Loneliness experience of gifted adolescents

The aim of this phenomenological research was to explore how gifted adolescents percieved and dealt with loneliness, causes and effects of loneliness, and the relationship between loneliness and giftedness. Participants were five gifted students who participated the middle-school programs at the Center for Research and Practice for High-Ability Education at Anadolu University. The Loneliness Scale for Children (5th-8th grade form) was used to identify gifted students who had a high level of loneliness. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant. They were asked to keep a diary, to write a composition and a story, and to draw pictures about loneliness. Analysis of interviews revealed five major findings. Participants associated loneliness with isolation. Loneliness gradually became a personal choice and a desperation for the participants who were isolated by their peers. They were left lonely because of being different and jealousy of others and not being aware of their behavioral problems. The way they dealt with loneliness was found to be related to their perception of loneliness. Finally, they didn't feel lonely in educational settings where they meet alike students. Keywords: Gifted adolescents, Perception of loneliness, Causes of loneliness, Effects of loneliness, Coping with loneliness.