Perfectionism, School Burnout, and School Engagement in Gifted Students: The Role of Stress

There is evidence that many gifted students set unrealistically high personal standards and that such perfectionistic tendencies may lead to higher stress. To build on this evidence, we examined whether performance perfectionism and school stress influence school burnout and school engagement in gifted students. A sample of 342 gifted students (Mage = 16.27, SD = 0.49) completed the study measures. Using structural equation modeling, we found that dimensions of performance perfectionism indirectly predicted school burnout and engagement via school stress. When gifted students reported that they expected themselves to perform perfectly at school, or that others expected them to perform perfectly at school, they reported more school stress. In turn, higher levels of school stress were related to increased school burnout and decreased school engagement. The management of performance perfectionism and school stress is therefore important when it comes to supporting and safeguarding gifted students.