Many Smart Kids Succumb to Temptation Offered by Drugs and Alcohol

While it is often assumed by parents that their children are smart enough to avoid drugs and alcohol, a new study published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research suggests that being smart does not mean they will stay away from drugs and alcohol. The study was conducted by researchers at University of Helsinki in Finland who observed over 3,000 healthy Finnish fraternal or identical twins who were different from one another with regards to verbal development during their childhood and alcohol consumption as adults.

The researchers found that twins who displayed advanced verbal development were twice as likely to be drinking by the time they reached 18 years compared to the other twin while those who were speaking more were four times as likely to drink more in a month compared to those who did not.

“Social drinking in many countries and nonproblematic drinking is more frequent and common among people with higher education. 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 kinds of experiences. [They’re] trying to learn new things. It could be related to the nature of intelligence”, lead researcher Antti Latvala said.

Source-Medindia