A Negative Flynn Effect in Kuwait: The same effect as in Europe but with seemingly different causes

- Negative Flynn Effect in Kuwait among 8 to 15 year olds
- Loss of 6.2 points per decade on SPM
- Greater a losses among older age cohorts
- Consistent with dynamics of religion-inspired changes to education system

The results of two previously published Arabic language administrations of the Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) are compared. The first is an administration of the SPM in 2006 to a probability sample of 6529 Kuwaitis aged between 8 and 15 from all regions of Kuwait. The second is an administration to a comparable sample of 6431 Kuwaitis in 2015. We find a significant Negative Flynn Effect in each age cohort and an overall Negative Flynn Effect amounting to a loss of 6.2 points in a decade. Possible reasons for this are discussed. It is proposed that the most persuasive explanation is increasing religious emphasis in the Kuwaiti school curriculum.