Social and emotional difficulties observed among highly able students are addressed. The asynchronous development, perfectionism, over-excitability, underachievement, and other social and emotional difficulties are discussed, describing factors related to them. The article finalizes highlighting possible contributions of the psychologist on counseling high ability students, their families and teachers, with the purpose of preventing or reducing maladjustments, as well as of helping them optimize their developmental process. / Se describen dificultades socio-emocionales que fueron observadas en alumnos con altas habilidades. Asimismo, se discute la asincronía entre distintas dimensiones del desarrollo, tales como el perfeccionismo, la hipersensibilidad, el bajo rendimiento, además de otro tipo de dificultades socio-emocionales, presentándose factores asociados a las mismas. Finalmente se señalan las posibles contribuciones del psicólogo en lo que se refiere a la orientación de los alumnos con altas habilidades, sus familias y profesores, a nivel de prevención o minimización de los desajustes, así como para contribuir a la optimización de su proceso de desarrollo.

The transition from primary to secondary school is considered to be a challenging process for all pupils, but particularly difficult for those with social and emotional difficulties. Nurture groups aim to develop social and emotional skills and are seen to correspond closely with the recommendations made in transition literature. It is therefore proposed that nurture provision could be an effective means of supporting socially and emotionally vulnerable pupils in the transition. Previous literature adds support to this view, but no study as yet has focused specifically upon this topic. A small-scale case study design was used to explore the ways in which one secondary school applied nurture principles to support vulnerable pupils through the transition process. The research followed an embedded, single case design incorporating contextual and interview data regarding the school's nurture provision. Contextual information was gathered through the research diary and analysed in relation to the identified propositions. In addition, four illustrative case examples surveyed the views of the nurture facilitator and three pupils who received different levels of nurture support: these interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. An integrated case description combines the findings from all data sources and offers a coherent account of the provision.The findings support the proposition that nurture provision can be an effective means of supporting socially and emotionally vulnerable pupils in the transition to secondary school. In line with nurture literature, the findings suggest that secondary schools need to adapt the primary nurture model to ensure provision meets the needs of their setting and cohort. While this promotes flexibility, secondary schools still need to adhere to a number of core principles to ensure they are delivering a true nurturing approach. A tentative model is presented, which proposes that secondary school nurture provision should aim to support social and emotional development through a range of provision that is firmly grounded in psychological theory. Provision should adhere closely to the six nurture principles, with effective identification of needs informing a personalised approach that is tailored to each individual pupil. The importance of relationships for learning and development is emphasised. The thesis concludes by suggesting that nurture provision can be an effective means of supporting socially and emotionally vulnerable pupils in the transition to secondary school, providing a number of core elements are in place.