The life experience of intellectually gifted women tested as adults, an existential-phenomenological exploration of being proven intelligent

Background: Despite extensive research on intellectually gifted girls, little is known on the experience of intellectually gifted women tested as adults and the meaning they make of both their late testing and proof of their intelligence.

Method: Through in-depth semi-structured online interviews of ten adult British women having done an IQ test after the age of 17, this interpretative phenomenological analysis
(IPA) study explores how these women perceive and interpret their intellectual giftedness.

Findings: Four themes emerged from the data, Seeking to Be Heard, Identity, Ability & Belonging, Ambivalence, and Pressure & Connection. The study significantly contributes to understanding the experiences of women who discovered or confirmed their giftedness in adulthood and the findings illuminate the social, individual, and educational intricacies that kept this trait unnoticed.

Conclusion: Navigating the intersections of high intelligence, gender norms, and social expectations presents both opportunities and obstacles to intellectually gifted women tested as an adult; it comes with an array of self-doubt, educational and professional difficulties, weight of expectations, relationship difficulties and gender prejudice, but also with determination, self-acceptance and a strong desire to success at making their lives their own.

From an existential point of view, this study opens a new understanding of the lives and choices of gifted women, as well as their sense of authenticity. For psychologists and psychotherapists, the study fosters a greater awareness, and helps support better adaptation to challenges associated with giftedness, enriching therapeutic practices.