Maternal relationships and motivation for success in gifted children

The aim of this study is to analyze acceptance-rejection and control perceptions of the gifted children and their mothers in the mother-child relationship between them, children's motivation for success, the relation between the children's maternal acceptance-rejection and control perceptions and their motivation for success. The target population of this study is the 5th and 6th graders who were attending Science and Art Centers in Adana and Mersin during the 2014-2015 academic year and their mothers. The sample of this study consists of a total of 229 students (103 female and 126 male) and 179 mothers. As data collection tools, Parent Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire/Control-Mother Short Form, Child Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire/Control-Mother Version Short Form, Echelle de Motivation en Education, and Mother and Student Data Collection Form are used in this study. The obtained data have been evaluated through Mann-Witney U Test, Kruskal-Wallis H Test, and Pearson Correlation Analysis. The significance level is taken as p<.05. As a result of this study, it is found that the mothers perceive their attitudes towards their children as accepting at a high level, as rejecting at a low level, and as controlling at a medium-level. Another result is that the levels of acceptance-rejection and control perception of the mothers do not vary by grade, gender, the age of mother, birth order and the number of children the mother has. On the other hand, it varies by the mother's level of education, employment status and the income status of family, significantly. It is also found that the children perceive their mothers' attitudes as accepting at a high level, as rejecting at a low level, and as controlling at a medium-level. The levels of acceptance-rejection and control perception of the children do not vary by grade, the age of mother, birth order and the number of children the mother has. On the other hand, it varies by gender, the mother's level of education, employment status and the income status of family, significantly. It is found what the mothers perceive from parental acceptance-rejection and control level and what the children perceive are significantly different. The results indicate that children's internalized extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation levels are high, while the lack of motivation and introjected extrinsic motivation levels are low. Children's level of motivation does not vary by the mother's education level, employment status, and the birth order; however, it varies by grade, gender, the age of mother, the income status of family, and the number of children the mother has, significantly. As another result, it is stated that there is a poor and significant relation between children's perception of maternal acceptance-rejection and their motivation, while there is a moderate and significant relation between maternal control perception and their motivation. Key Words: Giftedness, mother-child relationship, acceptance-rejection, control, motivation