First-borns 'really do have a a higher IQ'

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A study of a quarter of a million young men suggested that the eldest child usually has a higher IQ.

The findings, published in the journal Science, come after more than a century of scientific debate on whether birth order influences intelligence. However, the key to higher IQ seems to be not being born first, but growing up as the senior child in the family.

The study - of armed forces recruits - found that when a second-born child was raised as the eldest, after the first-born died in infancy, his intelligence was on a par with other first-borns.

Norwegian researchers studied the IQ test results of 241,310 young men drafted into the armed forces between 1967 and 1976. All were aged 18 or 19 at the time. The average IQ of first-born men was 103.2.

Second-born men averaged 101.2. However, second-born men whose older sibling died in infancy scored

102.9 - meaning their IQ was almost on a par with that of first-borns. And for third-borns, the average was 100.

But if both older siblings died young, the third-born score rose to 102.6. The findings provide "evidence that the relation between birth order and IQ score is dependent on the social rank in the family and not birth order as such", the researchers concluded.

In a related article, Dr Frank Sulloway, who has spent two decades looking at how upbringing affects personality, said it was likely the eldest child benefited from helping younger siblings make their way in the world.

The older child benefits by having to organise and express its thoughts to tutor youngsters.

The University of California researcher added: "Critics might argue that the mean IQ difference documented between a first-born and second-born is only 2.3 points. Such a modest difference, however, can have far greater consequences than most people realise.

"For example, if an educational system had only two colleges - one for students with IQs above the mean and a less desirable institution for all other students - an eldest child would be 13 per cent more likely to be admitted to the better institution."