Children that show stronger readings skills in their early life have higher IQ levels as adults, a new study finds.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh and King's College London say that early reading influences impact later intellectual development.
For their research, they looked at reading and intelligence scores of 1,890 identical twins taken when they were 7, 9, 10, 12, and 16. Because each pair of identical twins shared all their genes as well as a home environment, any differences between them had to be because of experiences that the twins didn't share, such as a particularly effective teacher or a group of friends that encouraged reading.
"Since reading is an ability that can be improved, our findings have implications for reading instruction," according to Stuart J. Ritchie, research fellow in psychology at the University of Edinburgh in a press statement. "Early remediation of reading problems might aid not only the growth of literacy, but also more general cognitive abilities that are of critical importance across the lifespan."
The researchers found that earlier differences in reading between the twins influenced later differences in intelligence. Reading was associated not only with measures of verbal intelligence but with measures of nonverbal intelligence as well. The differences in reading that were linked to differences in later intelligence were present by age 7, which may indicate that even early reading skills affect intellectual development.
"If, as our results imply, reading causally influences intelligence, the implications for educators are clear," said Ritchie. "Children who don't receive enough assistance in learning to read may also be missing out on the important, intelligence-boosting properties of literacy."
The study was funded by the UK Medical Research Council, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the European Research Council. Findings were published online in the journal Child Development.
