Social adjustment on gifted underachiever in junior high school: a phenomenology study

Within the development of adolescence, the most difficult assignment is dealing with social adjustment. Adolescents are required to keep up and adjust themselves with the opposite gender in establishing a social relationship which they have never done before as well as adjusting with the elderly outside the school and family. To accomplish and achieve the adult socialization pattern, adolescents need to make a new adjustment (Hurlock, 2005). Social adjustment is defined as an ability of individual in effectively reacting on particular situation, social reality, and social relationship, thus, the demand and expectation regarding social life can be accomplished (Schneider, 1964). Gifted underachiever students tend to encounter such issues. Using qualitative design study with phenomenology approach, this paper aims at obtaining information regarding the factors closely related on the social adjustment of gifted underachiever students in Junior High School in Malang. The data of this present study were obtained through in-deoth interview to the subjects. The findings of this study inidcated that the absence of sufficient understanding in regard with the characteristics of gifted underachiever students. As a result, gifted underachiever student will more likely encounter a difficulty in taking a social adjustment.