ABSTRACT

Objectives/Background

Intellectual giftedness is characterized by an intellectual development superior to peers, while emotional and relational developments correspond to the age norms. Few empirical researches have investigated sleep profile of gifted children (GC) and its association with their well-being, all of which used IQ as the sole definition criteria for GC. This study aimed to investigate the interaction between giftedness and sleep on socio-emotional functioning.

Participants

The sample consisted of 32 GC (25 boys; mean age = 9.62, SD = 1.81) and 17 typically-developing children (TD: 13 boys; mean age = 10.23 years, SD = 1.95). Giftedness was identified using Renzulli’s three-factor definition of giftedness.

Methods

Children’s sleep and socio-emotional functioning were respectively assessed with the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire and the Child Behavior Checklist, both completed by parents.

Results

Being in the GC group increased by 4.67 times the risk of having sleep problems and 14.12 times the risk of having maladaptive behaviors. Two-way ANOVA tests showed that sleep problems tended to moderate the relation between giftedness and adjustment difficulties so that the combination of giftedness and sleep problems appeared to be prejudicial to socio-emotional functioning.

Conclusion

Giftedness could be a risk factor for sleep disorders as well as adjustment difficulties. The present results support the importance of addressing sleep in the GC assessment to improve their well-being and eventually limit the negative impacts of sleep difficulties on emotional and behavioral functioning.

中文翻译：

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天才儿童的睡眠特征和社会情绪功能

摘要

目标/背景

智力天赋的特点是智力发展优于同龄人，而情感和关系发展符合年龄规范。很少有实证研究调查天才儿童（GC）的睡眠状况及其与他们的幸福感的关系，所有这些研究都将智商作为GC的唯一定义标准。本研究旨在调查天赋和睡眠对社会情绪功能的相互作用。

参与者

样本包括 32 名 GC（25 名男孩；平均年龄 = 9.62，SD = 1.81）和 17 名发育正常的儿童（TD：13 名男孩；平均年龄 = 10.23 岁，SD = 1.95）。天赋是使用 Renzulli 的天赋三因素定义来确定的。

方法

儿童的睡眠和社会情绪功能分别使用儿童睡眠习惯问卷和儿童行为检查表进行评估，两者均由父母完成。

结果

在 GC 组中，出现睡眠问题的风险增加了 4.67 倍，出现适应不良行为的风险增加了 14.12 倍。双向 ANOVA 测试表明，睡眠问题往往会缓和天赋和适应困难之间的关系，因此天赋和睡眠问题的结合似乎不利于社会情绪功能。

结论

天赋可能是睡眠障碍和适应困难的风险因素。目前的结果支持在 GC 评估中解决睡眠问题以改善他们的幸福感并最终限制睡眠困难对情绪和行为功能的负面影响的重要性。