Purpose in life among high ability adolescents

Leading high ability scholars have proposed theories that suggest a purpose in life may be particularly prevalent among high ability youth; however, the prevalence of purpose has not been empirically assessed among this population. Therefore using in-depth interviews the present study established th...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:High ability studies 2010-12, Vol.21 (2), p.133-145
Main Authors: Bronk, Kendall Cotton, Holmes Finch, W., Talib, Tasneem L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ability
Adolescents
Career Development
gifted
Goal Orientation
goals
high ability
Individual Development
meaning in life
Motivation
Prosocial Behavior
purpose in life
Quality of Life
Self Concept
Social Attitudes
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Leading high ability scholars have proposed theories that suggest a purpose in life may be particularly prevalent among high ability youth; however, the prevalence of purpose has not been empirically assessed among this population. Therefore using in-depth interviews the present study established the prevalence of purpose among a sample of high ability adolescents and compared it to the prevalence of purpose among a sample of typical youth (N= 203). Results revealed that purpose was present among high ability early and late adolescents at roughly the same rate as among more typical youth. However, high ability youth reported embracing self-oriented life goals earlier than more typical youth, and they identified different types of inspiring life purposes. Implications, including steps practitioners can take to foster purpose among high ability youth, are addressed.
ISSN:1359-8139
1469-834X
DOI:10.1080/13598139.2010.525339