Consequences of Having a Gifted Sibling: Myths and Realities

Three hundred sixty-six triads, each including a mother and her only two children, ages 7-14, completed questionnaires targeting mental ability and school achievement, child adjustment, and sibling relationship variables. Triads had been chosen as having 0, 1, or 2 children who were eligible for special classes for highly capable Students. Except for academic-ability variables, group comparisons according to school-based categories were not suggestive of sibling-giftedness effects. To focus on within-family perceptions, pairs were reclassified using a median split of the first principal component of maternal perceptions of child's giftedness. Contrary to findings of most previous studies, both giftedness and having a gifted sibling were generally associated with more favorable responses by children and mothers. Gender and age effects were also examined.