Sex Similarities and Differences in Intelligence in Children Aged Two to Eight: Analysis of SON-R 2–8 Scores

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate sex similarities and differences in visuospatial and fluid abilities and IQ scores based on those abilities in children aged two to eight. Standardization data from the Snijders-Oomen Nonverbal Intelligence Test for Children aged 2–8 (SON-R 2–8) were used. A representative sample composed of 965 children from the Netherlands and 762 children from Germany was examined. Small but significant mean sex differences favoring girls were observed until age four. At ages six and seven, boys achieved similar cognitive development levels to girls regarding all abilities assessed and outperformed girls on the Mosaics subtest measuring visuospatial cognition. Boys also displayed higher variability rates in performance. The distribution of IQ scores, with the overrepresentation of girls scoring above mean and the overrepresentation of boys scoring below mean in early childhood, altered with age towards parity between the sexes. The results suggest that girls tend to mature earlier with respect to cognitive abilities. During the course of development, however, the differences between girls and boys may become negligible.