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Abstract:

In response to calls for more a nuanced and person-centered approach to researching gifted underachievement, Snyder and Linnenbrink-Garcia (2013) developed a comprehensive theoretical framework proposing two distinct underachievement pathways. We sought to test the validity of this framework by using cluster analysis to construct profiles of self- and value beliefs of a sample of 395 high ability students in the first year of secondary school in Flanders, Belgium. The profiles were linked to (under)achievement and (dis)engagement outcomes as well as relevant variables representing early developmental experiences from the Snyder and Linnenbrink-Garcia framework. The underachievement profiles hypothesized by Snyder and Linnenbrink-Garcia clearly emerged among the seven emerging clusters, as well as one additional maladaptive and four (relatively) adaptive profiles.