The Emotional Intelligence, Moral Judgment, and Leadership of Academically Gifted Adolescents

Using 3 psychological scales, this study examined the level of emotional intelligence, moral judgment, and leadership of more than 200 gifted high school students who participated in an accelerative academic program or an enrichment leadership program through a university-based gifted institute. Major findings include that on emotional intelligence, gifted males were comparable to students in the age normative sample, while gifted females lagged behind the norm group. Regardless of gender, gifted students had higher scores on adaptability but lower scores on stress management and impulse control ability compared to the normative sample. On moral judgment, gifted students were comparable to the level of individuals with master's or professional degrees, and they showed an above-average level of leadership compared to the normative sample. No differences were found in students' scores on the 3 scales by the type of program (academic versus leadership). (Contains 5 tables and 2 endnotes.)