The other Side of Giftedness: a Systematic Review of the Association Between Depression and Giftedness

Abstract

This article aims to answer the question: Is intellectual giftedness in human beings, when compared to the normal intelligence of individuals, associated with the experience of depression or depressive disorder? Considering the results of five databases (PsycInfo, Web of Science, Scopus, SciELO and PubMed) and inclusion and exclusion criteria, depression in gifted individuals is related to: self-esteem (n = 4); internalizing behaviors (n = 2); stress (n = 4); protective and/or risk factors (n = 5); suicidal ideation (n = 2); perfectionism (n = 3); emotional adjustment (n = 6). The diversity of criteria for giftedness or psychometric tests used restricts the possibility of conclusion; however, points of convergence are observed. In the one hand, three studies found that the gifted were less depressed than average-achieving students, one article found the opposite. One study confirms the proposition that girls are more depressed than boys in the same condition. On the other hand, the results of two articles demonstrate that, among the gifted, boys are more depressed than girls. It is postulated that a future meta-analysis will be carried out in order to measure the significance and effect size of each result.