Understanding the Emotional Development of Twice Exceptional Rural Students.

Twice exceptional students are those who have emotional disturbances or behavioral disorders (E/BD) and who also display characteristics of high intellectual ability. Case studies were developed over a 3-year period on three male junior high school students who fit this definition. Data were interpreted using Kazimierz Dabrowski's Theory of Positive Disintegration, in which progressive conflicts and contradictions arise from life experience and become a fundamental and positive factor of development. The theory stresses the affective aspect of development and postulates five levels of individual development, each with a distinguishable personality organization. Dabrowski indicated that advanced development could be predicted by examining five types of overexcitabilities in response to stimuli. More numerous and more intense overexcitabilities suggest higher potential for advanced development. Psychomotor, sensual, intellectual, imaginational, and emotional overexcitabilities manifest themselves as building blocks of the five levels of development. Case study data revealed four general categories of behavioral and motivational themes. The three students provided evidence of Level-I egocentrism, overexcitabilities, and asynchronous development, three areas informed by Dabrowski's theory. In addition, a fourth theme emerged: acute awareness of manipulation. Implications for effective interventions with gifted E/BD students are discussed. Contains 10 references. (SV)