Intelligence Of Girls Research Articles

Low-moderate fluoride exposure and intelligence among Chinese school-aged children: Role of circulating mtDNA content

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content alterations are potential mediators of neuronal disorders. However, what effects of mtDNA content are on fluoride-induced neurotoxicity remain elusive. Here, a cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate roles of circulating mtDNA content on associations between fluoride and intelligence quotient (IQ) in 605 children aged 7–13 years from Tianjin, China. We assessed IQ and circulating mtDNA content in peripheral blood through the second edition of Combined Raven's Test-The Rural in China (CRT-RC2) and qRT-PCR methods. National standardized ion selective electrode method was used for fluoride concentrations in drinking water samples from each village and urine samples. Our results showed that the median (interquartile range) of water and urinary fluoride concentrations were 1.00 (0.70–2.20) mg/L and 0.41 (0.15–2.29) mg/L respectively. Water/urinary fluoride concentrations were negatively associated with not only IQ scores but mtDNA content, which in turn was positively linked with odds of children having excellent intelligence (P for trend <0.05). In gender-stratified analysis, fluoride levels were correlated with decreased odds [odds ratio (OR) = 0.94, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.90–0.99 for water fluoride; OR = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.89–0.99 for urinary fluoride], while mtDNA content was related to increased odds of having excellent intelligence (OR = 1.18; 95% CI: 1.07–1.30) in girls. Mediation analyses indicated that mtDNA content mediated 38.2% (95% CI: 9.6–78.4%) and 29.2% (95% CI: 0.77–67.0%) of associations of fluoride in water and urine with reduced odds of having excellent intelligence in girls. Collectively, our findings suggest that circulating mtDNA content was negatively associated with low-moderate fluoride concentrations, whereas positively linked to odds of possessing excellent intelligence in school-aged children. Especially, circulating mtDNA content may mediate the association between fluoride and reduced odds of having excellent intelligence in girls. Further, our findings need to be verified in a larger and general population.

Intelligence and Emotional Intelligence among Inmates of Orphanages: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Intelligence and Emotional Intelligence are the two psychological faculties that are closely related, both neurobiologically and conceptually and has significant influence in life outcome. Children living in orphanages are a group of unprivileged children with insufficient opportunities for both physical and psychological developments. Aim: To find out the intelligence, emotional intelligence and relationship between them among inmates of orphanages. Materials and Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional study which included 100 children living in orphanages. Personal data sheet developed by the investigator, Binet Kamat test of intelligence and Mangal Emotional Intelligence Inventory were the tools used for the study. Mann-Whitney U test and Spearman’s rank-order correlation was the statistical tests used. Results: The study subjects consisted of 58 girls and 42 boys. The mean score of intelligence in girls was 100.40 and the mean score of intelligence in boys was 99.12. The mean score emotional intelligence in girls was 61.45 and the mean score in boys was 59.95. No significant difference was found between girls and boys in intelligence and emotional intelligence. A positive correlation was found between intelligence and all the sub-scores and total score of emotional intelligence. Conclusion: Both nature and nurture are important in the development of psychological faculties like intelligence and emotional intelligence. There should be policies and programmes that focus on enhancing the intelligence and emotional intelligence of the underprivileged children living in child care institutions which in turn can decrease the deviant behaviours and increase the positive life outcomes.

Preschooler’s Cognitive Development in Correlation with Their Parents’ Implicit Theories of Intelligence and Personality

This paper is devoted to cognitive development of preschoolers in correlation with implicit theories of their parents. There are four positive mindsets of intelligence and learning motivation: (1) growth intelligence mindset, (2) growth personality mindset, (3) acceptance of learning goals, (4) positive learning self-esteem. We hypothesized that cognitive and intellectual parameters and self-esteem of preschoolers correlatewith parents’ growth mindsets. The study involved 120 subjects-40 preschoolers in age of 6 ± 0.5 years old (20 boys and 20 girls) and their 80 fathers and mothers. The parents ’ sample consisted of subjects aged from 27 to 54 years average age was 37.9 ± 6.7 years old). To investigate the cognitive differences of preschoolers we used: (1) two subtests of WISC (for examining attention and short-term memory); (2) Method of Verbal Thinking of Kern-Yirasek; (3) Method of Express Diagnostics of Intellectual Abilities (MEDIA) I. S. Averina, E. I. Shabanova and E. N. Zadorina. To explore parents’ mindsets Questionnaire of Implicit Theories of Intelligence and Personality (by C. Dweck, in the adaptation of T.V. Kornilova et al, 2008) was used. It was determined that the indicators of cognitive development and intelligence of girls are more related to parental attitudes than boys. In this case, the closest relationship is observed in the dyad ”father – daughter”. Indicators of attention, short-term memory, understanding of quantitative and qualitative relations, logical thinking are associated with mindsets of growth intelligence and adoption of their fathers’ high learning value. Girls ’mathematical abilities are positively related to fathers’ and negative mothers ’ growth mindsets.&#x0D; Keywords: parents’ influence, growth intelligence mindset, growth personality mindset, learning goals, learning self-esteem, cognitive and intellectual development.

Intelligence in girls and their subsequent smoking behaviour as mothers: the 1958 National Child Development Study and the 1970 British Cohort Study

Exposure to tobacco smoke either in utero or postnatally can have substantial adverse effects on child health, yet many women continue to smoke during pregnancy and after the birth. How women's intelligence in childhood affects their smoking behaviour as mothers is unclear. The participants were from two British national birth cohorts: 3325 women aged 33 years from the 1958 National Child Development Study and 1971 women aged 34 years from the 1970 British Cohort Study. We used structural equation modelling to examine the direct and indirect effects of intelligence measured at age 10-11 years, parental and current social class, educational attainment and age at first birth on smoking during pregnancy and current smoking status. Forty per cent of women in the 1958 cohort smoked during pregnancy, compared with 28% of those from the 1970 cohort. In both cohorts, women with lower IQ in childhood were more likely as adults to smoke during pregnancy and to be a smoker currently. Structural equation modelling showed that the effects of childhood IQ on smoking behaviour were indirect, as they were statistically mediated by educational attainment and age at first birth. There was some effect of educational attainment and age at first birth on smoking behaviour over and above the effect of intelligence. Childhood intelligence influenced women's smoking behaviour as mothers primarily through its contributions to educational attainment and age at first birth.

DOES PREFERENCE FOR SONS HAVE A DIFFERENTIAL IMPACT ON THE INTELLIGENCE OF BOYS AND GIRLS?: EVIDENCE FROM INDIA

The paper examined the impact of stated son preference on the intelligence of boys and girls from a developing country. It was hypothesized that preference for sons enhances the intelligence among boys whereas it hampers the intelligence of girls. The sample comprised of 204 boys and 213 girls studying in grade 6 to 8 in an urban centre of the state of Himachal Pradesh, India. A detailed questionnaire was administered to mothers which elicited information on the socio-economic characteristics of the household. The Coombs IS Index was used to measure son preference. Intelligence of the children was measured by the Standard Progressive Matrices and the z-scores were used as the dependent measure. Multiple regression analysis indicated that household income and son preference were positively correlated with the intelligence of boys and explained 14 percent of the variance in intelligence. In contrast, son preference was negatively correlated with the intelligence of girls and along with education of mother explained 17.8 percent of variance in the intelligence of girls, It was concluded that son preference has a differential impact on the intelligence of boys and girls which appears to be mediated through several social, cultural, and economic pathways.