PARENTAL REARING PRACTICES AND DEVELOPMENT OF GIFTEDNESS

Abstract

The paper offers an overview of research regarding the  relation of parental rearing practices and development of high potential, taking into account the two-dimensional models. When it comes to the emotional dimension, there is a high degree of consistency in empirical findings which suggest importance of parental emotional warmth in the development of children’s abilities. On the other hand, research on the role of control in upbringing of gifted child generate different conclusions. Although there is no doubt related to perceptions of control as directing and managing the child, some uncertainties arise from attempts to determine the optimal intensity of this dimension.  Finally, although it is difficult to give an unambiguous answer about the optimal combination of parental rearing practices, because of  the fact that this issue must be considered in relation to specific domain of giftedness, as well as  gifted child's age, research on this problem in most cases suggest a positive correlation between the authoritative rearing style and children’s talents.