What prompts adults to be tested for intellectual giftedness, and what kinds of psychopathological disorders could they have?

The literature is contradictory regarding the mental health of gifted people. Some studies show a positive relationship between intelligence and mental health (Aichele, 2018), while others associate giftedness with more frequent difficulties (Williams, 2017). The present study focused on gifted adults and was designed to provide a better understanding of what prompts adults to be tested for giftedness, and what psychopathological difficulties they can display. Fifty-three adults (mean age = 44 years old, SD = 9.51) having been screened for giftedness (mean full-scale intelligence quotient [FSIQ] = 137, SD = 5.4) agreed to provide information regarding (i) sociodemographic factors and their reasons for seeking giftedness testing via a study questionnaire; and (ii) their psychiatric status via the simplified, French-language version of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI-S: Hergueta & Weiller, 2017). The 53 participants chose to be screened mainly “because they felt discomforted” (64%) and, to a lesser extent “because they wanted to better understand how they worked” (32%). According to the MINI-S, 85% had at least one psychopathological problem and 15% had no difficulties at all. Participants with psychopathological disorders and those without did not differ significantly with regard to the full-scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ) (U = 222; p = .30). Our results show that the majority of adults were prompted to seek giftedness testing because they experienced psychopathological problems, which were often confirmed by the presence of psychopathology.