Why do intelligent people drink

According to the Savanna-IQ Interaction Hypothesis posited by evolutionary psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa, the human brain has trouble dealing with situations that did not exist in the Pleistocene environment we evolved in, but some brains less intelligent ones have more trouble than others. When Kanazawa analyzed data on UK children, he found that link.

Drawing on the results of the National Child Development Study, which tracked for 50 years all British babies born during one week in March , Kanazawa found that kids who scored higher on IQ tests grew up to drink larger quantities of alcohol on a more regular basis than their less intelligent peers.

Another study found that year-old women who had earned high scores on an IQ test at age five were more than twice as likely to have smoked weed or used cocaine in the previous year; men who had scored highly on IQ tests as children were 50 percent more likely to have recently consumed amphetamines or ecstasy.

Very few respondents—less than 1 per cent—preferred spirits; this preference was unrelated to IQ. When Kanazawa analyzed data on UK children, he found that link. Drawing on the results of the National Child Development Study, which tracked for 50 years all British babies born during one week in March , Kanazawa found that kids who scored higher on IQ tests grew up to drink larger quantities of alcohol on a more regular basis than their less intelligent peers.

Another study found that year-old women who had earned high scores on an IQ test at age five were more than twice as likely to have smoked weed or used cocaine in the previous year; men who had scored highly on IQ tests as children were 50 percent more likely to have recently consumed amphetamines or ecstasy.

Very few respondents—less than 1 percent—preferred spirits; this preference was unrelated to IQ. Twenty-two percent of men who were grouped into the highest of five IQ categories at age 18 preferred wine in their 30s, compared to 9 percent of the men grouped in the lowest IQ category. According to the same study of nearly 50, Swiss males, ages , moderation is the smartest course. Why is there so much contradictory research on the relationship between alcohol and intelligence?

One problem may be that most studies rely on participants' self-reporting about their alcohol intake, which isn't the most reliable measure. The jury may still be out on the connection between your smarts and your cocktails, but there is overwhelming evidence that heavy drinking has extensive negative health effects.

Bottoms up! Do Smarter People Drink More? Smart women drink more, but not more than men overall.