Creative, Thus Connected: The Power of Sociometric Creativity on Friendship Formation in Gifted Adolescents-A Longitudinal Network Analysis of Gifted Students.

The current study's purpose is to explore the influence of peer-perceived creativity (sociometric creativity) on the short-term development of friendships during a summer program for high ability students. Specifically, the two main objectives of our study are: (1) How did students' friendships network and sociometric creativity network evolve in the summer program? (2) How did sociometric creativity influence the friendship formation? The longitudinal study was conducted at the beginning, middle and the end of a 3-week long program for gifted students in Ireland. The sample consisted of Irish gifted students (N = 702, aged 13-18 years, 52% female, over thirty-one classes).