A study of psychological health among students of gifted and nongifted high schools

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Procedia ProcediaSocial Socialand andBehavioral BehavioralSciences Sciences55(2010) (2010)1220–1225 493–497 WCPCG-2010 A study of psychological health among students of gifted and nongifted high schools Mahboobeh Fouladchanga * , Akram Kohgardb, Vahideh Salah a,b b, a, Department of Educational Psychology, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran Department of Exceptional Children Education, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran Received January 10, 2010; revised February 1, 2010; accepted March 4, 2010 Abstract Purpose of Study: The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between depression, anxiety, stress and life satisfaction among gifted and nongifted high school students Methods: The participants of this study were 670 students (349 girls and 321 boys) selected by random cluster sampling They completed The Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale and 21-item version of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS) Findings and Results: There was a significant negative relationship between depression, anxiety, stress and life satisfaction The results of two-way ANOVA showed that girls had the better life satisfaction than boys According to the results, nongifted students had the higher level of life satisfaction than gifted ones On the other hand, the results of two-way ANOVA showed that girls had higher scores in anxiety and stress indexes than boys Furthermore, the results showed that gifted students had the lower level of anxiety and a higher level of stress than no gifted ones Conclusions: These findings provide some evidence for the existence of a negative relationship between depression, anxiety, Stress and life satisfaction © 2010 Elsevier Ltd Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license Keywords: Gifted, nongifted, life satisfaction, depression, anxiety, stress Introduction Life satisfaction is considered as an important construct in understanding adolescents’ psychological health Life satisfaction has been defined as a global evaluation by the person of his or her life (Pavot, Diener, Colvin, & Sandvik, 1991) and is strongly associated with mental health (Horley, 1984) It predicts mortality and suicide (Koivumaa-Honkanen, Honkanen, Viinamaki, Heikkila, Kaprio, & Koskenvuo, 2001) as well as work disability due to both psychiatric and somatic causes (Koivumaa-Honkanen, Koskenvuo, Honkanen, Viinamaki, & Kaprio, 2004) Life satisfaction is negatively correlated with depression, anxiety and stress (Swami, Chamorro-Premuzic, Sinniah, Maniam, Kannan, Stanistreet et al., 2007; Lewis, Dorahy & Schumaker, 1999; Headey, Kelley, & Wearing, 1993) *Mahboobeh Fouladchang E-mail address: foolad@shirazu.ac.ir 1877-0428 © 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.07.264 Mahboobeh Fouladchang et al / Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences (2010) 1220–1225 1221 Although the relationship between dissatisfaction and depression has been studied in the elderly (Green, Copeland, Dewey, Sharma, Saunders, Davidson et al., 1992) and psychiatric patients (Koivumaa-Honkanen et al., 2001), further investigation is needed to determine if this relationship is true in general population Also, there is a need to investigate the relationship between these psychological factors among other special population such as gifted students Although there are quantitatively suggestive evidences of the fact that gifted students experience more stress, anxiety, and adjustment problems than nongifted students (e.g., Chan, 2003; Neihart, 1999), some studies (e.g., Scholwinski & Reynolds, 1985; Reynolds & Bradley, 1983; Roome & Romney, 1985) showed that gifted students experienced lower levels of anxiety than nongifted students In regard to depression, some empirical studies suggested that gifted students as a group did not differ from their nongifted peers on the basis of the self-report depression measures (e.g., Bartell & Reynolds, 1986; Brody & Benbow, 1986) Another issue to be investigated is sex differences in psychological variables It has been indicated by several studies that females reported more depression symptoms than males (e.g., Brugha, Bebbington, MacCarthy, Sturt, Wykes, & Potter, 1990; Slavin & Rainer, 1990) Some studies showed that girls experienced consistently higher levels of negative affection such as anxiety and stress than boys (e.g., Hankin, Abramson, Moffitt, Silva, McGee, & Angell, 1998; Gullone, 2000; Landman-Peeters, Hartman, Pompe, Boer, Minderaa, & Ormel, 2005; Hale, Raaijmakers, Muris, Van Hoof, & Meeus, 2008) Some research evidences supported the notion that girls had higher life satisfaction than boys (Desantis, 2006; Karatzias, Power, Flemming, Lennan, & Swanson, 2002; Huebner, Drane, & Valois, 2000) However, finding in this area is limited So, the aims of this study were as follows: to investigate the relationship between life satisfaction and depression, anxiety and stress among gifted and nongifted students to compare gifted and nongifted students in their self-reported levels of life satisfaction, depression, anxiety and stress to examine gender differences with regard to self-reported levels of life satisfaction, depression, anxiety and stress Method 2.1 Participants Participants in this study were from four different high schools in Shiraz, Iran Two high schools were special schools for gifted students and two were for regular students The participants included 670 students (349 girls and 321 boys; 284 gifted and 386 nongifted) selected by random cluster sampling The mean age of the sample was 16.01 years (SD= 92, ranged from 14 to 18 years), with no significant age differences between boys and girls With regard to grade level, the total group included 245 first grade students (36.6 % of total sample, 107 gifted and 138 nongifted), 207 second grade students (30.9 % of total sample, 42 gifted and 66 nongifted ), and 218 third grade students (32.5 % of the total sample, 51 gifted and 68 nongifted) Most students came from middle social class families 2.2 Materials 2.2.1 Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) The brief 21-item version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995) is a self-report measure of one-week state negative effect, developed with the specific aim of achieving maximal differentiation between the affective syndromes of depression, anxiety and tension/stress Respondents indicate the extent to which they experienced each of the symptoms depicted in the items during the previous week on a 4-point Likert-type scale between (Did not apply to me at all) and (Applied to me very much, or most of the time) The 21-item version was developed by selecting the highest loading items from each scale of the original 42-item version of the DASS, while also aiming to retain coverage of the full symptom content of each of the three affective states (Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995) The factor structure of the DASS-21 is stable, and its scales possess good convergent and discriminate validity and high internal consistency in clinical and in nonclinical samples and in different ethnic groups in adults (Daza, Novy, Stanley, & Averill, 2002; Lovibond, 1998; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995; Norton, 2007) 1222 Mahboobeh Fouladchang et al / Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences (2010) 1220–1225 2.2.2 Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS, Huebner, 2001) assesses both global life satisfaction and satisfaction with specific life domains This 40- item self-report scale consists of five subscales, which were derived from principal component analysis: School (8 items), Friends (9 items), Family (7 items), Self (7 items), and Living Environment (9 items) Each item is rated on a 5-point response format with response options ranging from "strongly disagree "to" strongly agree" The MSLSS includes 10 negatively worded items that were reverse scored prior to analysis The MSLSS shows adequate reliability and validity The measurement quality of the scale is reported to be good (Greenspoon and Saklofske, 1998) Cronbach alpha coefficients for the present sample were 75, 77, 76, 79, 76, and 74 for subscales of School, Friends, Family, Self, and Living Environment, respectively Also, validity of this scale was confirmed by internal consistency Total scores on the five subscales had significant positive correlations with total score ranging from 60 (for Self subscale) to 69 (for Living Environment subscale) Results 3.1 Correlations The Pearson correlation coefficients between the subscales of DASS and the subscales of MSLSS are presented in Table As you see in Table 1, in both groups of gifted and nongifted students, the DASS subscales scores demonstrated negatively significant correlations with the total score of MSLSS (ranges from -.29 to -.46) and its' subscales (ranges from -.11 to -.34), exception for the relationship between anxiety, stress and school satisfaction in gifted students Table Correlations between DASS and MSLSS Group Gifted n = 284 Nonifted n = 386 DASS Depression Anxiety Stress Depression Anxiety Stress MSLSS School -.30** -.08 -.10 -.33** -.16* -.20** Friends -.27** -.18** -.19** -.34** -.21** -.21** Family -.31** -.24** -.22** -.34** -.21** -.21** Self -.26** -.14* -.19** -.20** -.26** -.11* Living Environment -.26** -.24** -.22** -.30** -.28** -.26** total -.45** -.29** -.31** -.46** -.33** -.31** * P < 05 ** P < 01 3.2 Two-way ANOVA To compare groups (gifted and nongifted students) and genders on life satisfaction scores, a two-way analysis of variance was conducted with gender and groups as independent variables and life satisfaction as dependent variable Means and standard deviations of variables can be found in Table Table Means and standard deviation of variables Varriables Groups Gifted n = 284 M SD Nongifted n = 284 M SD Total n = 670 M SD Mahboobeh Fouladchang et al / Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences (2010) 1220–1225 Life satisfaction Depression Anxiety Stress girl boy total girl boy total girl boy total girl boy total 149.61 146.04 147.83 17.21 17.84 17.5 20.87 18.56 19.81 21.59 22.91 22.34 19.38 17.81 1.08 4.45 4.50 4.48 6.54 5.91 6.35 5.97 5.77 5.89 151.62 149.44 150.53 17.77 17.84 17.80 22.54 19.41 21.00 19.42 21.36 20.57 18.63 16.97 93 4.93 4.50 4.74 6.45 5.79 6.32 5.45 5.78 5.72 150.74 148.05 149.5 17.53 17.84 17.68 21.81 19.06 20.49 20.59 22.15 21.49 1223 18.96 17.37 18.25 4.73 4.52 4.63 6.53 5.84 6.36 5.83 5.82 5.87 The results of ANOVA for life satisfaction are presented in Table As indicated in Table 3, there were significant main effects of groups (F 1, 670 = 3.599, P ” 05) and gender (F 1, 670 = 4.069, P ” 04) on life satisfaction However, there was no significant interaction effect of group and gender (F 1, 670 = 0.233) For the subscales of life satisfaction such as School, Friends, Family, Self, and Living Environment, the results of two-way analysis of variance revealed that there was only a significant main effect of groups on self (F 1, 670 = 9.336, P ” 002) Also, there was a significant main effect of gender on School (F , 670 = 8.940, P ” 003), Friend (F , 670 = 8.436, P ” 004), and Self (F , 670 = 6.169, P ” 013) Moreover, there was no significant interaction of groups and gender on all the subscale scores Table The results of ANOVA for Life satisfaction Source Groups Gender Groups * Gender Error Total Sum of Squares 1191.006 1346.477 77.220 220370.999 15195983 df Mean Squares F Sig 1 666 670 1191.006 1346.477 77.220 330.887 3.599 4.069 233 05 04 N.S The results of ANOVA for comparing groups (gifted and nongifted students) and genders on depression are presented in Tables As indicated in Table 4, there were no significant main effects of groups ( F1 , 670 = 0.573) and gender (F1 , 670 = 939) on depression Also, the interaction of gender and groups was not significant (F1 , 670 = 0.595) In regards to anxiety, there were significant main effects of groups (F1 , 670 = 6.764, P ” 01) and gender (F , 670 = 31.463, P ” 0001), but no significant interaction (F , 670 = 734) on anxiety (Table 5) Finally, there were significant main effects of groups (F1 , 670 = 13.028, P ” 0001) and gender (F , 670 = 17.095, P ” 0001), but no significant interaction effect (F1 , 670 = 472) on stress (Table 6) Table The results of ANOVA for Depression Source Groups Gender Groups * Gender Error Total Sum of Squares 12.307 20.163 12.779 14306.760 223759 df Mean Squares F Sig 1 666 670 12.307 20.163 12.779 21.482 573 939 595 N.S N.S N.S Table The results of ANOVA for Anxiety Source Groups Gender Groups * Gender Sum of Squares 259.301 1206.098 28.146 df Mean Squares F Sig 1 259.301 1206.098 28.146 6.764 31.463 734 01 0001 N.S 1224 Mahboobeh Fouladchang et al / Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences (2010) 1220–1225 Error Total 25530.150 308532 666 670 38.334 Table The results of ANOVA for Stress Source Groups Gender Groups * Gender Error Total Sum of Squares 432.247 567.159 15.645 22095.973 332423 df Mean Squares F Sig 1 666 670 432.247 567.159 15.645 33.177 13.028 17.095 472 0001 0001 N.S Discussion The results of correlation analyses are consistent with previous findings (e.g., Swami et al., 2007; Lewis et al., 1999; Headey et al., 1993) suggesting life satisfaction is negatively and significantly correlated with depression, anxiety and stress It means less satisfied individuals are more likely to report higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress This finding provides some supports for positive psychology theories and has some implications for school administrators to provide more life satisfaction for their students if they are to be psychologically health The results of comparing gifted and nongifted students showed that on the total life satisfaction and self subscale of it, gifted students had lower scores than nongifted ones Maybe, many gifted students have unrealistically high expectations of themselves, which lead to less life and self satisfaction This suggests gifted students are in a need for counseling services to increase their satisfaction However, Like some previous findings (e.g., Brody & Benbow, 1986), the present study showed that gifted students as a group did not differ from their nongifted peers on the basis of the self-report depression measures The results also revealed gifted students experienced lower levels of anxiety than nongifted students This finding is consistent with the majority of studies (Scholwinski & Reynolds, 1985; Reynolds & Bradley, 1983; Roome & Romney, 1985) This result may occur because of competitive situation governed on regular schools as a result of entrance examinations of universities and high schools in Iran This study also supported some previous findings (Chan, 2003) revealing that gifted students experienced higher levels of stress than nongifted students It was expected gifted students experience more stress than their peers because of their cognitive capabilities (Neihaurt, 1999) Another significant finding is gender differences on life satisfaction Like some previous researches (Desantis, 2006; Karatzias et al., 2002; Huebner et al., 2000), current study found that girls had higher life satisfaction than boys The present study did not support gender differences on depression, in spite of other findings that reported females had more depression symptoms than males (e.g., Brugha et al., 1990; Slavin & Rainer, 1990) A possible explanation is the equality of opportunities for two genders Moreover, our results showed that girls experienced consistently higher levels of anxiety and stress than boys This is consistent with the previous research on gender effects on stress and anxiety (e.g., Hankin et al., 1998; Gullone, 2000; Landman-Peeters et al., 2005; Hale et al, 2008) Perhaps, the differences in the socialization patterns of males and females have been the primary explanation for this differences 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