LONDON — Many aspiring parents don’t wait too long to have kids thanks to the various studies pointing to health risks associated with older age and conception. But a new study finds that boys born to older fathers tend to be geekier — that is, show greater intelligence while worrying less about what others think of them personally.
Researchers at King’s College in London examined 15,000 twin pairs who participated in the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS) conducted at the university. They hoped to find whether paternal age at conception played a role in the “geekiness” of a father’s male offspring.
Participants in the study, all of whom were 12 years of age, were asked to complete questionnaires measuring various “geek-like” traits often associated with gifted individuals, including non-verbal IQ score, level of social aloofness, how much they worry about the way others view them, and interest in closely studying particular fields.
After external factors were controlled for, the researchers found that boys born to older fathers were generally geekier than their peers, which often manifested in better school performance, even years after the questionnaire had been taken. The finding held especially true for boys in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects.
“Our study suggests that there may be some benefits associated with having an older father,” says lead researcher Dr. Magdalena Janecka in a university press release. “We have known for a while about the negative consequences of advanced paternal age, but now we have shown that these children may also go on to have better educational and career prospects.”
One possible explanation for the researchers’ findings is that older fathers tend to be of better socioeconomic status, which enables their sons to grow up in a more enriched environment, augmented by better schooling.
The researchers hope that further research can explore the interrelatedness of variables such as increased paternal age and a geeky personality with autism.
They note that both extraordinary biological and environmental factors can result in offspring being on the spectrum, and that high IQ and autism often go hand in hand.
The study’s findings were published in the journal Translational Psychology.
I guess they’re not going to examine the percentage of older-father offspring who place along the ASD scale…
Agreed; I think this is their “nice” way of saying that older fathers produce more offspring on the ASD scale. “Geekier” was the chosen euphemism. I think more well-rounded children are a better bet than geekier children.
“Older” mothers, too. I think there are higher instances of children with ASD among “older” parents.
geekier children are going to be more successful financially than well round children
It sounds like you already know the answer. I’d even take it one step further, the older fathers themselves probably rate a bit higher on the ASD scale. What we might disagree on, if I might read in to your words a bit, is if being higher on the ASD is a problem.
I assure you, it’s not. It’s just normal human variation. It’s not a condition that needs attention, let alone treatment.
Offspring of old parents have sharper teeth and therefore are better suited to biting the heads off of chickens.
And lizards. You can’t forget the lizards.
That might help explain the infamous and regrettable “lizard incident” I had in grade school that got me suspended and caused my family so much grief.
Zippy en I didn’t get out much. Chicken heads en lizards was our favorites. What’s grade school?
Wonder how many of these kids are “only” children, too. They get all the attention of their parents—they don’t have to share it. They can converse with adults too.
I have an only child and we never baby’ed him. Instead he was treated like a conversing adult and never had a sibling to keep him down in baby talk. He is more mature than his 8th grade classmates, thats for sure. Excellent grades too, cant complain with all As and a B. (darn common core math)
Wait until next year. Mine was on the honor roll in 8th grade. Puberty changed everything. His head is finally getting free from his sphincter. The oxygen is coming back and he is turning back to a human. He starts college in the fall.
When my wife and I got married, I was 27 and she was 34. We had our son the next year. He’s an only child, autism spectrum (high functioning), and early on he was deemed very smart. He is hyperlexic and also likes math. He’s also emotionally immature for his age. He’s also home schooled.
And a single samle is relevant to statistical studies – how?
It isn’t. I am simply pointing out that my family happens to fall in line with the study.
This study appears to be about older fathers. While your wife is, from a reproductive point of view, older women are not mentioned in the study.
My mother was in her 30s when she had me, three years later my sister. My father was 45.
Your family i=has no relation to the study.
My wife thinks I’m smart and high-functioning autistic.
Every wife thinks their husband is a tard. Yea I said it!
LOL!! Ha ha ha…. Great!
not really relevant at all. IQ is the most important factor in this study. cause you can give a dumb kid all the nurturing in the world and it won’t make him smarter
Smart guys tend to have kids later. It’s Genetic.
Gangbangers, on the other hand, need to have children early before they end up in prison
or dead… lol.
Or daughters?? I was said to have a 167 IQ from a test when young.. I didn’t have kids until i was over 30. Both are girls and both are extremely smart but the first one is for sure a genius without even getting her tested.
If she’s really smart she won’t be.
I held off getting married until I knew I could afford a divorce.
Now that I can afford a divorce, I’m too wise to get married.
But this study says I’ll sire geniuses because I’ve become a smart _uck.
That’s because older fathers r not as immature or “high school” as younger dads. DADS R a YUGE influence on kids! older dads=less likely to care about popularity & more likely to care about Banking $$$
Actually older fathers tend to pop more vitamin pills like older mothers pop prenatals because doctors push for better quality sperm & egg respectively. Redo the study with these parameters. Also older parents have better access to specialist care.
Except that vitamin pills for healthy, old men with no vitamin deficiencies LOWERS their health.
How old is “older”? Over 30? Over 40? 50?? 60???
Excellent point. I don’t think that’s specified in this “in-depth” article!
over 35
A couple of years ago we heard old guys’ kids were all idiots.
And we were worried about the coming Ice Age…or should I say…the next Ice Age to come.
There’s two regular PSAs on local radio, one telling how children are starving to death in the US and everywhere while the other says kids and adults as well are all too fat.
Just having the same father around means jr. beats out most of the competition, for anything. Father hanging around until late middle age is so darn rare, kid can’t help benefit.
Most of these “studies” are DUH. Taxpayer funded? And didja know that sweltering summer heat can cause sweat (perspiration).
While this is an interesting finding and an odd take on “geekiness” I wonder if these sons don’t simply reflect the nature of the fathers.
What about the daughters?
I was born when my father was 45, played football, lifted weights, got in fights and didn’t give much of a sh!t what other people, apart from pretty girls, thought of me.
My sister was born three years later and did everything my parents hoped and expected of me but she too was quite smart and “geeky” in the sense that school was important to her. She got “A”s because she cared, I got As and Bs because I didn’t.
the older fathers had no effect on the daughter’s intelligence I read on another article for this study. so no if it doesn’t effect the daughter as well as the son then you can’t really say that reflects the father. its from genetic mutations from the older father that are beneficial to the son.
Who would have thought that kids having kids was a bad thing?
It’s because older parents have more patience.