Adult, Gifted

Identification in Youth

Much of what is known about adults who were identified in the educational years is based on longitudinal research. For example, the longitudinal study of 1,528 childhood geniuses undertaken by Lewis Terman and his colleagues extended over the course of approximately 40 years, and participants have been contacted for numerous follow-up studies by other researchers. The study included anthropometric measurements, cultural and socioeconomic background assessments, health histories, personality trait evaluations, analyses of interests, and thorough documentation of family backgrounds, the expectation being that these cognitively advanced individuals would achieve at levels beyond those of the general population; the appraisal of this achievement being educational attainment, contributions to knowledge and culture, and the recognition gained by them. In 1959, 38 years after the study began, Lewis Terman and Melita Oden published the first follow-up study of these individuals who were identified in their youth. The group of geniuses, overall, was very successful in adulthood and happier and healthier than the average person. The majority of the participants graduated from college (70%), which is notable given that at the time, only 8 percent of people of the same age from the general population were graduating from college. Not only were a disproportionate number of participants graduating, but many graduated with honors, and 14 percent of the men in the group and 4 percent of the women attained Ph.D. or comparable level degrees compared to less than 3 percent of same-aged individuals in the general population at that time.

The participants often chose professional and semiprofessional occupations such as doctors, lawyers, teachers, and professors. The rewards and publications garnered by this group are numerous, and they consistently achieved well beyond what would be expected of a random sample of the population. Not surprisingly, when asked to identify the top 10 factors that contributed to their life accomplishment, adequate education was most frequently cited by both men (83%) and women (79%). Despite this clear acknowledgment of one environmental influence on success and the clearly defined capacity for achievement based on cognitive ability, 37 percent of males and 44 percent of females in this group felt that they had not lived up to their potential.

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