Gifted students may experience psychological challenges alongside their high academic potential and performance demands. This study aimed to examine perfectionism and burnout as predictors of psychological distress among gifted students in Malang, Indonesia. A quantitative correlational study with a cross-sectional design was conducted involving 69 gifted students aged 13–15 years who were enrolled in secondary education and had IQ scores above 130. Data were collected using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), Child-Adolescent Perfectionism Scale (CAPS), and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21). The data were analyzed using multiple linear regression after testing the assumptions of normality, linearity, and multicollinearity. The results showed that perfectionism and burnout significantly predicted psychological distress simultaneously (F = 69.218, p < .001), with the regression model explaining 70.8% of the variance in distress (R² = .708). Partial analysis indicated that burnout was a significant positive predictor of distress (β = .558, p < .001), whereas perfectionism was a significant negative predictor (β = −.398, p < .001). These findings indicate that burnout and perfectionism have distinct relationships with psychological distress among gifted students. The findings highlight the importance of counseling practices that address burnout while considering the specific dimensions and characteristics of perfectionism among gifted students.
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