Life Meaning Versus Intelligence: An Analysis of Three Qualities of Meaning Among Gifted Adults

The authors tested the hypothesis that gifted adults are at higher risk for existential crises. Three qualities of meaning were investigated—meaningfulness, crisis of meaning, and existential indifference—among three gifted groups: highly intellectually gifted (N = 100), high academic achievers (N = 52), and highly verbally gifted (N = 65), with a control group (N = 134). The intellectually gifted were found to experience significantly lower meaningfulness and more crises of meaning than the control group and high academic achievers. They also remembered less supportive family and school experiences during their childhood. Subjective well-being and resilience were associated with meaningfulness, whereas depression was related to crisis of meaning. Contrary to our assumptions, the relationships of hypersensitivity, perfectionism, and self-criticism with qualities of meaning among the gifted were not significant.