First Is Better When It Comes to I.Q. Scores

A scientific study was recently conducted to add to a half-century debate about whether first-born children have higher I.Q.'s than their younger siblings. The study, conducted by Norwegian epidemiologists, analyzed military records of birth order and I.Q. scores of more than 240,000 men born from 1967 to 1976. The finding that firstborns averaged three IQ points higher than their next sibling were reported in Science and Intelligence journals and by the New York Times in Research Finds First Borns Gain the Higher I.Q.

The Norwegian epidemiologists corrected for factors such as parents' education level, maternal age at birth, and family size in order to isolate the birth order factor. They also studied families where firstborn sons died, turning younger siblings into effective "firstborns." The differences in I.Q. varied by family, showing up in most but not all families, but the average difference was significant.

Now, I.Q. is clearly not the only key to success -- or balance -- in life. Other traits such as temperament, drive, adventurousness and creativity matter greatly. However, intelligence, and how families develop their children's I.Q's, obviously are valuable factors well worth studying as well all try to make sure our families, as well as our own lives, are as balanced as possible.

The theory behind the higher I.Q. correlation is that birth order and the resulting parental attention play a more dominant role in I.Q. development than biological traits. Parents with more than one child regularly joke about how unbalanced their parenting efforts are -- that the first child received far more time, attention, worry and nurturing than subsequent children. "Firstborns have their parents' undivided attention as infants, and even if that attention is later divided evenly with a sibling or more, it means that over time they will have more cumulative adult attention, in theory enriching their vocabulary and reasoning abilities," according to the Times article.

I am the third-born child in a family where the firstborn died. I have to admit that I always had a sneaky suspicion that my parents believed my older sibling was smarter than the rest of us (although I always begged to differ). Part of my success in school, work and at home was inspired by my desire to keep up with my siblings. And in my own kids, I see strengths and weaknesses in them that clearly are linked to birth order, but I never saw these differences as I.Q. related per se.

What do you see in your children? In your own childhood? How much -- or little -- does birth order matter in life? Do these findings effect your feelings about the pros and cons of having (or being) an only child? Having twins or other multiples? Or the importance of spacing out children's births in order to balance out the adult attention each child receives?

By Leslie Morgan Steiner |  June 25, 2007; 7:00 AM ET  | Category:  Raising Great Kids
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