Children who learn to speak and read at early age 'more likely to become heavy drinkers in later life'
Children who learn to speak and read at an early age are more likely to become heavy drinkers in later life, a study has found.
Studies carried out on twins revealed that the sibling who spoke or read first were twice as likely to drink more alcohol than their brother or sister by the time they were 18.
The research was carried out on 3,000 twins from Finland.
It looked at their verbal development and drinking behavior as they grew into adults, and published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
Experts found that not only did the early talkers and readers drink more, but they were also four times more likely to get drunk at least once a month compared to with the later developers.
The studies did not suggest that any of those in the group had alcohol addictions or drinking disorders, CBS news reports.
They suggested the link between higher intelligence and heavier drinking could be because more intelligent people are more likely to be willing to try more risky things, and because verbal intelligence makes people more social.
Those who learned to speak and read earlier also had more friends.
Lead author Antti Latvala, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki in Finland said: 'People have this impression that intelligence is somehow related to being introverted and bookwormish.
'But if you look at these large studies they definitely find this association with sensation-seeking and seeking different kind of experiences. [They're] trying to learn new things. It could be related to the nature of intelligence
Source: dailymail
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