Highly Gifted Students in Their School Years - Part 5 of 5
Level Two Longitudinal Study Results for the Final two Highly Gifted Youngsters, Plus a Summary of All 12 Results
In case you didn’t read — or don’t quite remember — the Parts 1–4 of the Level Two highly gifted youngsters in the longitudinal study, I’ll repeat the background. Also, you might find a case study that really reminds you of someone in your own life or family and want to share just this post with them! Two more subjects are presented and I’ve also provided a summary related to all 12 of these Level Two subjects during their educational years.
This group of 12 subjects are essentially at the same Level of Giftedness, Highly Gifted, Level Two, as everyone else in this section. At the same time, not everyone turns out the same by the time they grow up. In some cases it is because of lack of access to the higher tiered institutions; this can be due to lack of money, a background that doesn’t know how to guide the gifted youngster to the right fit where true peers are, or a person who has already been so psychologically hurt or damaged they don’t have the resilience or wherewithal to chart their own course anyway. Many people think an expert should be tell them what the right path is. It is almost always more complicated than that.
Background about my connection to the subjects and their families
I worked directly with most of the families and individuals in this study. I administered and interpreted intelligence and achievement tests to most of the subjects in this study. Sometimes someone else had already done the testing and the families came to me for further recommendations and support. My first book, 5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options in 2009, was about the Five Levels of Gifted and their early milestones and the experiences of the families. You can find these subjects first in the book and then here in these longitudinal study results, as well as other books listed at the end.
Again, the presentation of subjects follows the order of their K-12 school fit from the categories where conditions are Unsatisfactory, Acceptable, Satisfactory to Excellent. This whole series of Level Two longitudinal study results’ posts adds to the concept of “fit” by including the family and social life.
Hans Fletcher
Hans’ family was added to the study without submitting any personality profiles at the time. They agreed to update their files, and both Hans and his mother had MBTI® results of INTJ (Scientist). Hans was fortunate to have an Excellent educational fit throughout his school years. He has two younger sisters and his father died during the time Hans was in college. Although he decided his parents were both authoritative, his narrative description indicates his father was more authoritarian, and his mother went along with it. Here is his description:
After reviewing your link that describes parenting styles, I would regard my parents as having more of an authoritative parenting style than anything else. My sisters and I were expected to keep good grades, stay away from drugs, keep to a tight curfew, and generally stay away from trouble. However, we did have repercussions if those expectations were not met. At the time I thought the repercussions were “very unfair and out of line” but in hindsight they were not that bad. We would have phones, TV time, and computers taken away at times. Or we would sometimes be “grounded” which prevented us from leaving the house for any reason besides school, sports, or necessary errands.
I will admit that I did have a rebellious side while growing up. I did not enjoy having electronic privileges taken away or being prevented from seeing friends as punishment to not meeting expectations. An Angel child is probably not something my parents would have described me as throughout childhood. And this rebelliousness is something that has, in a way, continued to trail me through life. I might not be staying out past curfew or illegally drinking a few beers with some guys anymore, but “rules” set by society are still something I find myself challenging. Leaving my job this spring to set out on my own is a clear example of this rebelliousness still thriving.
When looking at my parents’ own childhoods, my mother grew up with authoritative parenting and was a “straight A” student and well-behaved child. And my father and his brothers grew up with very authoritarian parenting. My father’s siblings could write novels about all of the mischief he and they would get into while growing up … and everyone in my father’s family went a non- traditional route with their careers and have all become successful in that aspect as well as they started and raised healthy families. So, I guess I am not sure if I am mimicking many of my father’s behaviors in life because they clearly turned out successful for him, or because it’s just in my blood.
It appears Hans now, just past his mid-twenties, believes his father’s method, although hard on him at the time, worked. Hans got a job after college working for a boss and he has now left that role to start his own business. He refers to himself as a “sociable loner” and started to take anti-anxiety meds in his twenties. Notice in the above quote and the mention of anti-anxiety medication, Hans tries to make sense of the way his father treated him and what his father expected. Hans concludes that it was for his own good and he got the tools for making a good living, i.e., earning lots of money. He is tall, well-mannered, and good-looking. He and his sisters were discouraged from dating in high school. Now in his late twenties, he still has not dated or had any romantic relationship and wonders a bit if something might be wrong with him. His social life is mostly around doing things with his family (mother and two sisters) and playing baseball on a local team. He pitched throughout high school and still has friends from that activity. His interpretations about his life have so far been rudimentary and he is not showing discernible signs of being a Searcher of any deeper meaning beyond making lots of money and being “successful” in that way.
Tony Matthews
Tony, who preferred ISFP (Artist) as a child, describes his parents as between authoritarian and authoritative. His mother’s personality type preference is ENFJ (Giver) and his father’s is INTJ (Scientist). Both parents had some family tragedies in their backgrounds, and Tony’s father, who still works as a professor, was diagnosed with a degenerative illness when Tony and his younger brother were less than twelve years old. He describes his parents as follows:
My parents are basically pretty strict, and while dad was getting sick … we were both grounded a fair amount of time. We learned to give him his space. Dad’s illness has brought the whole family closer together. They are both intense people. I wouldn’t be as strict in my parenting.
Tony does not describe any conflicts between his parents and him regarding how his educational path went. His educational path was an Excellent fit from beginning to end. Most S- Sensors, as Tony is, tend to be rule followers and not question whether instructions or rules “fit” them. This means many S-Sensing types can be cooperative students even when they are also P- Perceiving types. His mother sent feedback and is clearly pleased with him, what he has done, and what he is now doing. She explained some earlier concerns:
Tony took advantage of the honors/accelerated/AP options that were available to him. Still, it felt like he was not achieving at his highest level. Not in the sense that everything came to him so easily or that he aced everything, but more that he didn’t seem fully motivated. I don’t think this is the case in college. He seems genuinely motivated and interested in his coursework.
Most of what his mother wrote echoed how Tony saw his younger years. She wrote:
Other challenging times were when Tony switched to private school for middle school and then back to public high school in ninth grade. In both cases he didn’t know many of the kids and it took a while to make friends. When Tony was about 13 years old, he got interested and quite skilled in acoustic and electric guitar. Although he’d been playing piano for many years, the guitar was a great way for him to connect with his peers. This definitely increased his popularity level in high school. He also started singing and acting so he was able to develop a social group with the performing arts students and also had an opportunity to excel.
During the interviews, Tony said he picked up guitar-playing in late middle school and it helped him make friends. He had a long-term girlfriend from high school, and they met up again after college when he took a job in a major music area of the country. The relationship ended soon after, and Tony has focused his time and attention on developing his music career with both his job and a couple college friends. In his mid-twenties, Tony remains positive about his present and future, and he says he eats healthy, exercises regularly, and lifts weights. Typical for someone as young as Tony, he does not show signs of being a Searcher. Some people his age are already Searchers, so this is simply a comment to help readers see differences with personality type preferences and background experience.
Level Two Summary
To summarize the childhood experiences of the 12 gifted adults from Level Two vis-à-vis the parent and child dynamics, it appears there are several trends. Strong parental viewpoints impact the self-concept of the subjects whose personality and views do not naturally agree with those of their parents. In some of these cases, the child agrees with the head but not the heart and feels wrong or bad about not being able to perform as expected. Parenting styles that include at least one permissive or uninvolved parent reveal more depression, second-guessing, and self-esteem issues in the now adult gifted child. There is a noticeable tendency in this group for many J-Judging parents to focus on the behaviors and surmised needs of their P-Perceiving children more than for their J-Judging children. It may be beneficial for future parenting and parent-child studies to look at any changes in personality style preferences throughout the lifespan to see if that corresponds with personal growth or other factors.
Finally, does Level of Giftedness affect the degree to which any of the above factors are present? As with the Level One group, most of the Level Two group had at least one J-Judging parent. Although it is possible the Level Two children brought out a competitive spirit in some parents where the parents expected their gifted children to always be at the top of their classes and competitions, it is also possible it was their J-Judging personalities that played a significant role. The next section on Level Three gives us a chance to see if the trends we have seen so far continue into the rare — i.e., fewer people in the general population — Levels.
I will start the section for Level Three subjects with Part 1.
Handy references from past posts:
Gifted Children and Their Personality Types
On Substack: https://deborahruf.substack.com/p/gifted-children-and-their-personality-e12?utm_source=publication-search
On Medium: https://medium.com/@deborahruf/gifted-children-and-their-personality-types-f875785c53f6
My current published books about the gifted:
The Five Levels of Gifted Children Grown Up: What They Tell Us (2023). https://www.amazon.com/Levels-Gifted-Children-Grown-Up/dp/B0C9SHFRLH or https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-5-levels-of-gifted-children-grown-up-phd-deborah-l-ruf/1143719859?ean=9798988323709. This is an 18-year longitudinal study follow-up about the original gifted child subjects in 5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options (2005, 2009).
Keys to Successfully Parenting the Gifted Child (2023). On Amazon, Keys to Successfully Parenting Gifted Children (2022, 2023) Print and ebook. The Nook version is also now on B&N. This is a short book 80 pages including pictures — that is a great starter for parents just wanting some answers … fast! The content was originally from a PowerPoint I created for the parents of gifted children presentations around the country. The contents zero in on some of the most important things about raising gifted children want to know.
Losing Our Minds: Too Many Gifted Children Left Behind (Oct. 2024). The book provides a detailed analysis of the different levels of giftedness, the concept of "good fit" in educational settings, and the impact of various school environments on gifted children. It also includes personal stories and experiences of gifted children and adults, highlighting the challenges they face in finding appropriate educational and social environments. Available now on both Amazon and B&N. It is not the old purple book from 2005. Also, the Kindle and Nook versions are formatted so readers can click back and forth easily and find their place again. Follow this link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DL3BSC9X or this link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/losing-our-minds-deborah-ruf/1146410968?ean=2940185888872
5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options in 2009. Here are links to the 5 Levels of Gifted book on Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/5-levels-of-gifted-deborah-ruf/1126358834 and Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Levels-Gifted-School-Educational-Options/dp/0910707987 or directly from the publisher: https://www.giftedunlimitedllc.com/store/p12/5_Levels_of_Gifted.html
Environmental, Familial, and Personal Factors That Affect the Self-Actualization of Highly Gifted Adults: Case Studies (D. Ruf, 1998) doctoral dissertation. Free PDF https://dabrowskicenter.org/ruf
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