An evaluation of quality of life for former gifted program participants in Vietnam

ABSTRACT This study examined life satisfaction of former gifted students who graduated from a gifted program in Vietnam 10 years ago. The authors surveyed adults in their mid- to late-20s to discover whether being identified as gifted during their high school years impacted their quality of life as adults. The research instrument that was used for this study was Flanagan’s Quality of Life Scale (QoLS) translated into Vietnamese. The findings indicated that former gifted students achieved a high satisfaction of their life, and consistently across five domains: Physical and Material Well-being, Relations with other People, Social, Community, and Civic Activities, Personal Development and Fulfillment, and Recreation. There were no significant differences in terms of STEM and non-STEM professionals as well as gender. Implications of the cross-cultural validity of the QoLS and other QoL instruments used in a Vietnamese-speaking population are also discussed.