Life satisfaction reports of gifted middle-school children

This study compared gifted and nongifted middle-school students' reports of their subjective well-being using a positive indicator of well-being, that is, life satisfaction. The results supported the separability of the life satisfaction domains with both groups of students. Subsequent comparisons of mean levels of satisfaction revealed no significant differences between the two groups on reports across both domain-specific (e.g., family, friends, school experiences) and global life-satisfaction indexes. However, the manner in which the specific domains related to global life-satisfaction reports differed as a function of group membership. Consistent with expectations, gifted students' evaluations of the quality of their school experiences accounted for greater portions of unique variance in the formulation of their overall or global life satisfaction reports than was the case for their nongifted counterparts. The findings are discussed in relation to future research and educational planning in the area of gifted students' subjective well-being, particularly with respect to consideration of the importance of school climate for this group of exceptional children.