Clinical Research

Using the ElemenOE with parents to identify Dąbrowskian overexcitabilities among precocious children

Volume: 12 Number: 1 June 30, 2025

Using the ElemenOE with parents to identify Dąbrowskian overexcitabilities among precocious children

Abstract

This exploratory study examined the prevalence of five forms of overexcitability in children between the ages of four and eight who were identified as gifted by a standardized intelligence test score of 130 or greater. The study included 132 parents of gifted children in the United States who completed an online version of the ElemenOE questionnaire, an instrument with 30 items measuring overexcitabilities on a 5-point Likert scale. Results revealed intellectual overexcitability as most prevalent (M = 4.39), with three forms (intellectual, psychomotor, and emotional) exceeding the threshold for classification as "high" overexcitability. Males scored higher in psychomotor overexcitability, and while females scored higher in the remaining four OEs, only the differences in intellectual and imaginational overexcitabilities were statistically significant. Chi-squared analyses revealed significant associations between gender and both imaginational and psychomotor high scores (>3.5). While children with disabilities (15.5% of the sample) showed higher mean values across all overexcitabilities, particularly in sensual (3.75 vs. 3.34) and emotional domains (4.27 vs. 3.98), these differences were not statistically significant. Neither age nor level of giftedness showed significant correlations with overexcitability scores, though profoundly gifted children demonstrated notably less variability in scores across all domains. Strong positive correlations emerged between certain overexcitability pairs, particularly emotional-sensual and emotional-psychomotor. These findings contribute to the literature on overexcitabilities among younger gifted children and provide insight that may be used to guide education, school counseling, and parenting practices to support the development of gifted youth. Results demonstrate that the ElemenOE is an effective tool for parents and caregivers to identify students' overexcitability profiles.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

This research was made possible in part by generous funding from the William and Sylvia Cohen Early Childhood Education Fund, a Johns Hopkins School of Education endowment. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the views of the Cohen Family.

Ethical Statement

We have no conflicts of interest to disclose. This study was approved by the Johns Hopkins University institutional ethics review board.

Thanks

We would like to thank the parents who participated in this study for their time and support, as well as the organizations that shared recruitment information about this study.

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Special Talented Education

Journal Section

Clinical Research

Authors

Hilary Leithauser This is me
0000-0003-2909-1498
United States

Kinsey Genheimer This is me
0009-0002-2011-0373
United States

Early Pub Date

May 13, 2025

Publication Date

June 30, 2025

Submission Date

January 28, 2025

Acceptance Date

April 21, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 12 Number: 1

APA
Guılbault, K., Leithauser, H., & Genheimer, K. (2025). Using the ElemenOE with parents to identify Dąbrowskian overexcitabilities among precocious children. Journal of Gifted Education and Creativity, 12(1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15395909
AMA
1.Guılbault K, Leithauser H, Genheimer K. Using the ElemenOE with parents to identify Dąbrowskian overexcitabilities among precocious children. JGEDC. 2025;12(1):1-22. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15395909
Chicago
Guılbault, Keri, Hilary Leithauser, and Kinsey Genheimer. 2025. “Using the ElemenOE With Parents to Identify Dąbrowskian Overexcitabilities Among Precocious Children”. Journal of Gifted Education and Creativity 12 (1): 1-22. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15395909.
EndNote
Guılbault K, Leithauser H, Genheimer K (June 1, 2025) Using the ElemenOE with parents to identify Dąbrowskian overexcitabilities among precocious children. Journal of Gifted Education and Creativity 12 1 1–22.
IEEE
[1]K. Guılbault, H. Leithauser, and K. Genheimer, “Using the ElemenOE with parents to identify Dąbrowskian overexcitabilities among precocious children”, JGEDC, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 1–22, June 2025, doi: 10.5281/zenodo.15395909.
ISNAD
Guılbault, Keri - Leithauser, Hilary - Genheimer, Kinsey. “Using the ElemenOE With Parents to Identify Dąbrowskian Overexcitabilities Among Precocious Children”. Journal of Gifted Education and Creativity 12/1 (June 1, 2025): 1-22. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15395909.
JAMA
1.Guılbault K, Leithauser H, Genheimer K. Using the ElemenOE with parents to identify Dąbrowskian overexcitabilities among precocious children. JGEDC. 2025;12:1–22.
MLA
Guılbault, Keri, et al. “Using the ElemenOE With Parents to Identify Dąbrowskian Overexcitabilities Among Precocious Children”. Journal of Gifted Education and Creativity, vol. 12, no. 1, June 2025, pp. 1-22, doi:10.5281/zenodo.15395909.
Vancouver
1.Keri Guılbault, Hilary Leithauser, Kinsey Genheimer. Using the ElemenOE with parents to identify Dąbrowskian overexcitabilities among precocious children. JGEDC. 2025 Jun. 1;12(1):1-22. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15395909

JGEDC is one of approximately ten academic journals in the world that publish in the field of gifted education, and its editorial board includes some of the most prominent scholars in this field.