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One of the few things we actually know for sure about iq is that it has a protective function when it comes to mental illness.
by bjoli 8y ago
One of the few things we actually know for sure about iq is that it has a protective function when it comes to mental illness.
- plemer 8y agoSource? I'm seeing both that it has a protective effect and that high intelligence is associated with mood disorders.
- danans 8y agoDo you have a citation for that? On the surface it seems like an absurd statement, since IQ isn't a "thing", like for example, sickle shaped blood cells, which are protective against malaria. It's a human devised statistical metric, which says nothing about what actually causes a particular score. Even if there is a population wide correlation of higher IQ to better mental health, it would be heavily confounded by other huge factors affecting mental health, like income, education, health care access, family conditions during childhood. To prove this you'd have to control for at least those factors, and possibly many others.
- bjoli 8y agoThe studies of high iq and correlation to mental illness all seem to be pretty bad (like, "let's survey a bunch of mensa members"), whereas the studies of correlation of childhood IQ and later mental illness are generally better studies. One of the better examples is https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/lower-childhood-iq-associated-with-higher-risk-of-adult-mental-disorders/ https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/lower-child... The better studies of high IQ and mental illness seems to only show a slightly higher occurrence of bipolar disorders.
- opportune 8y agoBut this could easily break down for outliers while still maintaining the general trend