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Contrary to popular belief that teens with failing grades are more likely to try unhealthy and dangerous vices like drugs and alcohol, a new study has found that their high-scoring peers have higher risk of abusing substances.
To arrive at this conclusion, researchers James Williams and Gareth Hagger-Johnson from the University College London Medical School collected data from 6,000 teen participants across England.
Participants were classified into three groups based on results of a nationwide test that all students take at around age 11.
Over the years, students were monitored with surveys that included questions like alcohol, cigarette and cannabis use at their early adolescence (ages 13 to 17) and late adolescence (ages 18 to 20).
High-performing teenagers were found to be 25% more likely to drink occasionally (not every year) in their early adolescence compared with low-scoring peers.
Meanwhile, their risk of drinking persistently (every year) was more than 50% higher in late adolescence than low-performing pals.
In terms of pot use, smarter kids were 50% more likely to use pot occasionally and 91% more likely to smoke cannabis persistently in late adolescence.
Interestingly, high-scoring students were 62% less likely to light cigarettes in early adolescence compared to low scorers.
Researchers believe that more intelligent kids are more open to new experiences, are possibly more accepted by pals who have access to these substances or more honest when completing self-reported surveys.
Furthermore, researchers think that smarter kids are highly influenced by intelligent and wealthy parents who prefer to drink more alcohol and ditch cigarettes.
“Reducing harmful substance use in this age group is important, no matter the level of academic ability, given the immediate risks to health and the longer term consequences,” the researchers wrote in an article for the journal BMJ Open.
