Family Systems Characteristics and Underachieving Gifted Adolescent Males

The family systems of 45 underachieving and 45 achieving gifted male adolescents were compared on the variables of family functionality, family satisfaction, family environment (conflict, achievement orientation, independence, and expressiveness), and achievement satisfaction. Families with achieving and underachieving gifted students did not differ on the measure of family functionality. Achievement satisfaction and family satisfaction differentiated families on the basis of the status of their gifted student; achievement satisfaction differentiated functional from dysfunctional families. Families with achieving gifted students expressed higher achievement satisfaction than families with underachieving gifted students, and dysfunctional families with an underachieving adolescent were less satisfied with their child's achievement than were functional families with an underachieving student.