Pre- and postnatal drivers of childhood intelligence: evidence from Singapore

J Biosoc Sci. 2013 Jan;45(1):41-56. doi: 10.1017/S0021932012000156. Epub 2012 Apr 19.

Abstract

This study seeks to investigate what influences intelligence in early childhood. The Singapore Cohort Study of the Risk Factors of Myopia (SCORM) is used to assess determinants of childhood IQ and changes in IQ. This longitudinal data set, collected in 1999, includes a wealth of demographic, socioeconomic and prenatal characteristics. The richness of the data allows various econometric approaches to be employed, including the use of ordered and multinomial logit analysis. Mother's education is found to be a consistent and key determinant of childhood IQ. Father's education and school quality are found to be key drivers for increasing IQ levels above the average sample movement.

MeSH terms

  • Birth Order
  • Birth Weight
  • Breast Feeding
  • Child
  • Educational Status
  • Family Characteristics
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Income
  • Intelligence Tests
  • Intelligence*
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Maternal Age
  • Models, Econometric
  • Parents / psychology*
  • Risk Factors
  • Singapore
  • Women, Working