In a recent position statement, the National Association of Gifted Children argued the importance of providing equitable treatment of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and other sexual and gender minority individuals (LGBTQ+) gifted youth to help them maximize their potential. However, there are very few empirical studies focusing on the intersection of giftedness and gender identities. Little is known regarding these students’ experience at, and outside of, school. Focusing on the individual process of gender identity development and self-acceptance, we interviewed nine LGBTQ+ postsecondary students in North America (aged between 19 and 29 years) who are graduates of an academically focused high school in Turkey. In particular, we studied their ways of thinking, stress coping strategies, and environmental factors that may have enabled their self-acceptance of LGBTQ+ identities. Findings of the study show that the mental health of LGBTQ+ is a function of individual factors (e.g., coping strategies), structural factors (e.g., a homophobic sociocultural environment), and the context. The findings also indicate the benefits of complexity and reflectiveness in thinking, metacognition and the ability to separate identity labels from identities, enabled by high school peer support, liberal curriculum and classroom discussions, and access to information during adolescence.

在最近的一份立场声明中，全国天才儿童协会认为，为女同性恋、男同性恋、双性恋、跨性别者、酷儿和其他性和性别少数群体 (LGBTQ+) 天才青年提供公平待遇的重要性，以帮助他们最大限度地发挥潜力。然而，很少有实证研究关注天才和性别认同的交叉点。关于这些学生在校内外的经历知之甚少。关注性别认同发展和自我接纳的个体过程，我们采访了 9 名来自北美洲的 LGBTQ+ 大专学生（年龄在 19 至 29 岁之间），他们毕业于土耳其的一所学术型高中。我们特别研究了他们的思维方式、压力应对策略、和环境因素可能使他们能够自我接受 LGBTQ+ 身份。研究结果表明，LGBTQ+ 的心理健康受个人因素（例如，应对策略）、结构因素（例如，恐同的社会文化环境）和背景的影响。研究结果还表明，在高中同学的支持、自由课程和课堂讨论以及青春期获取信息的支持下，思维、元认知以及将身份标签与身份分开的能力的复杂性和反思性带来的好处。