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BMC Public Health
Published in: BMC Public Health 1/2016

Open Access 01-12-2016 | Research article

Sex differences in the intellectual functioning of early school-aged children in rural China

Authors: Chao Li, Ni Zhu, Lingxia Zeng, Shaonong Dang, Jing Zhou, Yijun Kang, Yang Yang, Hong Yan

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2016

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Abstract

Background

Gender disparities in China are concentrated in poor rural areas and among poor households. The difference in intelligence between boys and girls is less clear in rural China. The purpose of this paper was to assess sex differences in the intellectual function of early school-aged children in rural China.

Methods

One thousand seven hundred forty four early school-aged offspring of women who had participated in a prenatal supplementation trial with different combinations of micronutrients and continued to reside in two rural counties in China were followed. We measured their Full-Scale IQ (FSIQ), Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI), Working Memory Index (WMI), Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI) and Processing Speed Index (PSI) using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV). Multilevel analyses were used to assess sex differences in intellectual functioning in 7-10-year-old children in rural China.

Results

Boys’ adjusted mean FSIQ score was 0.97 points higher (95 % CI: -2.22 − 0.28) than that of girls. Girls obtained higher mean WMI and PSI scores, with 1.32 points (95 % CI: 0.14 − 2.51) and 3.10 points (95 % CI: 1.82–4.38) higher adjusted means, respectively. Boys’ adjusted mean VCI and PRI scores were significantly higher than those of girls, and the mean differences were 2.44 points (95 % CI: 0.95 − 3.94) and 3.68 points (95 % CI: 2.36 − 5.01), respectively.

Conclusions

There is no evidence to suggest sex differences in the general intelligence of early school-aged children in rural China. However, a difference in general intelligence between 10-year-old boys and girls was evident. Girls and boys in rural China tended to show different specific cognitive abilities.
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Metadata
Title
Sex differences in the intellectual functioning of early school-aged children in rural China
Authors
Chao Li
Ni Zhu
Lingxia Zeng
Shaonong Dang
Jing Zhou
Yijun Kang
Yang Yang
Hong Yan
Publication date
01-12-2016
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2016
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-2956-6

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