High IQ Children Grow Up to Be... High

Kids who score well on IQ tests more likely to score drugs as adults
By Mark Russell,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 20, 2011 1:14 PM CST
High IQ Children Grow Up to Be... High
Smart children are much more likely to use drugs as adults, according to a new study of 8,000 people in Great Britain.   (Shutterstock)

Smartypants kids are much more likely to use all sorts of illegal drugs as teenagers and adults, according to a new study of 8,000 Brits born in 1970. Five-year-olds who scored high IQ scores were more likely to have tried marijuana by age 16, reports the LA Times, and by age 30 high-IQ men were 46% more likely to have used amphetamines in the past year and 65% more likely to have used ecstasy. High-IQ women at age 30 were twice as likely to have used cocaine or marijuana in the previous year.

“High-IQ individuals have also been shown to score highly on tests of stimulation seeking and openness to experience,” wrote the researchers, who hypothesize that “illegal drugs are better at fulfilling a desire for novelty and stimulation." They also suggested that the increased drug use could be tied to the tendency for high-IQ young people to be bored or teased. (More intelligence stories.)

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