Abstract
The Impact of Ostracism on the Psychological Health of Gifted Students in the South Region of Jordan
Author(s): Jehad Abed R.M. Turkey*Ostracism is ultimately known as a communicative phenomenon. It makes individuals feel marginalized, rejected, ignored and neglected. It has an impact on psychological, social, and academic performance. Anyone can be refused on an individual or a group basis. Ostracism is utterly one of the social rejection forms. It is less obvious than bullying, as it threatens basic needs of humans; namely, (belonging, self-esteem, meaningful existence); however, it is extremely painful and causes social pain because it does not confirm the existence of the individual. Ostracism, during adolescence, can severely be destructive due to the urgent need for group affiliation. Gifted adolescents may face extra challenges of peer acceptance because of their high intelligence and asynchronous physical development. This research aims to capture the impact of ostracism on the psychological health of gifted students in the south region of Jordan. The research sample included 135 students from the seventh grade to the tenth grade, whose ages range from (12-16) years, and who were chosen using the simple random method. To achieve this research’s objectives, the researcher used the ostracism scale developed by Gilman and his colleagues implemented the descriptive and survey approach. The results of the research reflected that the level of ostracism among the research sample was low, and there were no obvious differences, at the significance level of (α ≤ 0.05) in the students’ mean scores on the ostracism scale attributed to the variables of gender and grade. According to the results obtained, the research recommends the necessity of uncovering the psychological problems of the gifted. It also recommends identifying those students who suffer from ostracism. Further, the research recommends preparing counselling programs for gifted students in raising their level of self-concept and understanding the nature of their personality and problems, as well as counselling programs for ordinary students concerning the acceptance of the gifted students and integrating them into the social framework.