Abstract

Giftedness has become an important area in education and in psychology. This article explains the need for understanding of the giftedness and for emotional development for the gifted group's mental health. The definition and concept of giftedness, emotional characteristics of gifted children were emphasized as the flip sided of the creativity and intellectual abilities. The emotional vulnerability of gifted children was also discussed with endogenous and exogeneous stress factors. The endogenous stress factors were internal and social dyssynchrony, introversion, stimulus overperception, emotional sensitivity and overexcitability, perfectionism, self-criticism, risk avoidance, multipotentiality, and depression. The exogeneous stress factors were parenting, educational curriculum and schooling, others' expectation, peer relationship, parent-child relationship and expectation, siblings, understanding of the gifted, and social-cultural values. Two sided characteristics - positive adjustment and negative emotional problems within giftedness were explained with these factors. Finally, this article suggested the several guidances possibly useful for the purpose of intervention of emotional difficulties and emotional development of mental health. Suggestions included professional child counselling, emotional education, and parent counseling & education.