Children inherit intelligence from their mums, study finds

8 November 2022, 12:06 | Updated: 21 December 2022, 14:59

By Alice Dear

Mums – if your child is a small genius, it's time to take some credit.

For many parents, arguing who their child gets their positive and negative traits from has become a daily occurrence.

Whether it be their temperament, logic or organisation, every mum and dad has their own theory – and they are usually opposites.

But, as it turns out, we may finally have worked out exactly which parent a child's intelligence comes from – and it's bad news for you dads out there.

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That's right, a scientific study has found that children inherit intelligence from their mother.

There are many studies out there that have attempted to put the argument to bed once and for all, but one carried about by Medical Research Council Social and Public Health Sciences Unit in Glasgow may have found an answer.

Research has shown that the X chromosome is responsible for carrying intelligence.

And while men have one X chromosome (XY), women have two (XX), making it twice as likely that a child's intelligence came from the mother.

The study interviewed children every year from the ages of 14 to 22, taking into account varying factors such as education.

Through their research, they found that the best predictor for the intelligence levels of a child is to within the intelligence of the mother.

Of course, not everyone agrees with this theory.

Other professionals have argued that intelligence is not always down to chromosomes and that environmental factors also have an impact on kids.

According to Psychology Spot, 40 to 60 per cent of intelligence in a person if hereditary, and the rest comes from the environment around us.

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