FULFILLMENT OF POTENTIAL, LIFE SATISFACTION, AND COMPETENCE - COMPARING 4 COHORTS OF GIFTED WOMEN AT MIDLIFE

Descriptive data from 4 studies of midlife gifted women (Birnbaum, 1971, 1975; Ginzberg, 1966; Schuster, 1986/1987; Terman & Oden, 1959) were compared. Cross-cohort comparisons were made on measures of fulfillment of potential, life satisfaction, and self-perceived competence at midlife. Gifted women born in 1940 were found to have higher scores on all measures of well-being than did their counterparts from earlier generations. Interview data from Schuster's (1986/1987) study were used to illustrate concerns of contemporary gifted women during adulthood. Conditions for gifted women appear to have improved over the past 50 years, but researchers need to take cohort circumstances into consideration when evaluating the achievements or limitations of a particular group. Implications for future cross-cohort research methodology and recommendations for future research on gifted women are included.