Possess a strong belief in self. We saw parents fax homework, drive 50 miles to deliver forgotten lunches, offer to drive 200 miles to pick up a child who no longer wanted to be on a ski trip, etc. Another emotional implication of Winner's findings is that because conformity is less important, gifted children are frequently content in some aspects of their exclusion. This can increase issues of self-esteem. For many gifted students, academic work in childhood was not a significant challenge, but work in upper grades, middle, or high school, they may experience academic failure for the first time.
Some gifted students resent their own giftedness.
Adults usually make it worse by denying this harsh conclusion. Gifted kids are terribly competent at knowing when adults do not tell the whole truth. Gifted children typically are greater risk takers. This can lead to both more success and more danger. Really, we are also talking about us.