5 Things That Undermine Achievement in Gifted Boys

Many people reached out after reading about the association between the personality trait of openness to experience and giftedness, often noting reservations about the current term “gifted”—how it limits discussion, how it lumps a lot of different people into one vague group, how it sets up a dichotomy with “non-gifted, and more—while also expressing relief and appreciation at feeling recognized. Poignantly, the stigma and challenges to thriving that gifted people sometimes face was a frequent theme highlighted by those who reached out to share their own stories.

Recent research by Desmet and Pereira (2021) in the journal Gifted Education International took a close look at academic underachievement. Prior research on academic underachievement in gifted students showed that it is a significant problem, affecting boys 2-3 times as much as girls. Estimates of underachievement range from 10 to 25 percent (Gilar-Corbi, et al., 2019), or higher in some studies, depending on how it is defined.

In reviewing the literature, Desmet and Pereira note that compared with higher achievers, gifted underachievers have increased academic anxiety, are more disengaged emotionally, report lower internal and external motivation, less motivation to learn, difficulty with self-regulation, and a reduced sense of self-efficacy.

What has not been studied closely are students' perceptions of their own underachievement. Because gifted individuals need individualized education, sincerely considering their point of view provides a critical piece of the puzzle. To that end, Desmet and Pereira developed a detailed interview-based study to ask the following questions: “How do boys identified as gifted perceive their underachievement and its development?”

They recruited six participants middle- to high-school-aged, identified as “gifted” based on IQ testing and prior educational designation, and underachieving as reflected in objective lower GPA (grade point average) as well as self-identifying. Participants were carefully selected from four different Midwestern schools with the assistance of school administration. They were each interviewed for an average of 40 minutes, answering questions including, What does ‘underachievement’ mean to you? How does the word fit you? and What have you thought about not achieving well in your classes? How do you make sense of that?

The researchers disclosed their own backgrounds, one reporting experiencing underachievement and “educational trauma”, the other having a generally positive educational experience, other than being underchallenged until reaching university.¹ Individual stories were analyzed for recurring themes by one researcher, and confirmed with feedback from the second for consistency and lack of bias. Consensus was reached after extensive review to identify major common themes.

A few things need to be kept in mind while reading about the themes related to underachievement. One, the study involved only six children. Two, it is qualitative research; while qualitative research is designed to expose factors that might not be revealed otherwise, the findings need to be examined and validated in further, larger groups of study subjects.

5 Themes Related to Underachievement

1. Lack of challenge. All the boys felt unchallenged in their schooling, noting that this persistent experience eroded their values and beliefs about education and their own future goals. Feeling insufficiently challenged negatively affected self-esteem, especially when self-worth was tied to academic accomplishment, resulting in perfectionism and procrastination for some.
2. Investment in hobbies. All of the boys spent much time outside school with hobbies and extracurricular activities, including sports, robotics, and performing arts, as well as watching television. They placed greater value on their efforts outside of school than their formal education. While recognizing the importance of homework, they were more motivated to pursue other activities and weren’t really into their homework.
3. Time management and self-regulation. Learning to manage oneself was a problem for all. Procrastination was a universal theme, along with not wanting to do any schoolwork outside of school hours. Participants had difficulty with time management and organization and were at a loss for how to make needed changes. Being underchallenged meant that the external motivation to pull things into shape was missing, compounded by the absence of support, or even awareness that supervision was required to support proper development.
4. Family transitions and composition. Family problems made it more difficult for the boys in this study to get the support and emotional environment needed to thrive. Three of the boys reported divorced parents, and one reported having a mom who recently had to go back to work, leaving him suddenly with less oversight and care, compounded by having a special-needs brother. Family issues diverted attention and resources away from those with less obvious specialized needs.
5. Peer relations. The majority of boys interviewed said that their friend group interfered with academic success. They reported two ways friendships might interfere with academic success. First, friends could be underachieving, creating a negative social environment. Second, friends could be a distraction from the task at hand. Being popular was prized above academic achievement, leading kids to miss what was happening because of socializing during class. Two of the six boys reported being bullied, which undermined achievement by lowering self-esteem and motivation, and led to school avoidance due to feeling unsafe.

One Size Fits None

The themes identified in the interviews suggest a troubling picture, consistent with the findings of prior quantitative studies. First, being underchallenged from a young age undermines motivation and deprives children of the stimulation and care required to develop self-esteem, motivation, and the intrinsic reward systems that undergird achievement. Chronically having it too easy leads to disillusionment in the educational system, posing the risk of burnout and a sense of learned helplessness with regard to ever getting intellectual and emotional needs met, and making it hard to feel secure in one's abilities—for many, well into adulthood.

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Relationships are critically important for children (let alone adults) to thrive, and being underchallenged as well as having family problems compounds underachievement by blocking access to the very parental and mentoring relationships upon which children thrive. While the term “gifted” is becoming controversial, hinting at elitism and pigeonholing, the recognition remains that all children deserve an education tailored to their needs.

Overall, the study conveys the sense that for struggling gifted boys, school becomes a source of pain, failure, and chronic distress rather than a source of healthy self-esteem, good relationships, and a springboard to a bright future. For everyone if possible, and perhaps especially for those with a particularly curious, open mind, education ought to be a delight—a platform from which one flourishes. Areas of natural interest are best valued, and included in education. Resources are increasingly available, as our understanding of how to best meet the social, emotional, and educational needs of gifted people increases.

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