Friendship Heterogeneity in Gifted Adolescents: A Lexical Analysis of Close Relationships

Research on the socialization of gifted adolescents yields inconsistent findings, and potential heterogeneity within this population has rarely been examined. This study is aimed at qualitatively examining how gifted adolescents perceive their close friendship. We conducted semistructured interviews with 31 French gifted adolescents (11 girls and 20 boys) enrolled in middle school and analyzed the transcripts using descending hierarchical lexical analysis with IRaMuTeQ. Five distinct friendship experiences emerged: ambivalent (marked by tensions between identification/differentiation and support/competition); emotionally uninvested (characterized by low affective engagement); supportive (involving mutual aid and sharing outside school); school‐based (a secure and structuring bond anchored in the school setting); and fraternal (with strong emotional closeness modeled on sibling relationships). These configurations were associated with gender, age, grade level, grade acceleration and friend status (as best vs. close friend). Across configurations, perceived friendship quality varied with relational dimensions (warmth vs. opposition), emotional intensity, spatiotemporal context, and identity processes. Although most participants described meaningful and functional bonds with their close friend, they reported difficulties primarily in classroom contexts. This finding underscores the value of a more comprehensive analysis of friendship networks.