Parallel Session Proceedings »
5.5.7 The Application of the Gifted Anxiety Scale on Gifted Lebanese Youth
Gifted children still puzzle educators and society. For one, researchers have not yet come to a unified definition of what gifted is. They have, however, come up with common characteristics which they believe that gifted children possess. Among these characteristics are imagination, sensitivity, high levels of thinking, high morals, empathy and asynchronous development. With these characteristics added to them a need for perfectionism, these gifted children experience anxiety. Anxiety can cause existential depression, social anxiety and interpersonal isolation for gifted children. This in turn, will ‘cripple’ the gifted child, depriving her/him from her/his potentials. Hence, it becomes imperative to assess the levels of anxiety to develop an intervention plan for the child/youth. Using the appropriate gifted anxiety scale becomes important for educators and counselors. The objectives of this study has been to validate the “Anxiety Scale” (JamalAllel, 2017), which has been developed in the KSA, in the Lebanese context to replace international scales that might be culturally biased. The research question that the study aimed to answer “Does the Anxiety Scale identify the anxiety level of Lebanese gifted youth?” 12 identified gifted children filled out the scale and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) so that the results would be compared. The children’s parents also filled the SDQ Parent survey. The primary descriptive results reveal that further research is required. In some of the surveys, the comparison between the SDQ results and the Anxiety Scale indicate that the scale assess the gifted’s anxiety level, while in others, it does not. Consequently, a second phase of the study is required whereby in depth interviews with the 12 gifted children are to take place.