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Gonggrijp BMA, Silventoinen K, Dolan CV, Boomsma DI, Kaprio J, Willemsen G. The mechanism of assortative mating for educational attainment: a study of Finnish and Dutch twins and their spouses. Front Genet 2023; 14:1150697. [PMID: 37396041 PMCID: PMC10311485 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1150697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Assortative mating refers describes a phenomenon in which individuals with similar phenotypic traits are more likely to mate and reproduce with each other; i.e. assortative mating occurs when individuals choose partners based on their similarity or dissimilarity in certain traits.to patterns of non-random mating of spouses leading to phenotypic resemblance. There are various theories about the its underlying mechanisms, which have different genetic consequences. Methods: We analyzed examined two possible mechanisms underlying assortative mating - phenotypic assortment and social homogamy - for educational attainment in two countries utilizing data of mono- and dizygotic twins and their spouses (1,451 Finnish and 1,616 Dutch twin-spouse pairs). Results: The spousal correlations were 0.51 in Finland and 0.45 in the Netherlands, to which phenotypic assortment contributed 0.35 and 0.30, and social homogamy 0.16 and 0.15, respectively. Conclusion: Both social homogamy and phenotypic assortment are important processes in spouse selection in Finland and the Netherlands. In both countries, phenotypic assortment contributes to a greater degree to the similarity of spouses than social homogamy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bodine M. A. Gonggrijp
- Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR), Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Department of Biological Psychology, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Netherlands
| | - Karri Silventoinen
- Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland
- Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland
| | - Conor V. Dolan
- Department of Biological Psychology, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Netherlands
| | - Dorret I. Boomsma
- Department of Biological Psychology, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Netherlands
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Jaakko Kaprio
- Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland
| | - Gonneke Willemsen
- Department of Biological Psychology, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Netherlands
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Versluys TMM, Flintham EO, Mas-Sandoval A, Savolainen V. Why do we pick similar mates, or do we? Biol Lett 2021; 17:20210463. [PMID: 34813721 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2021.0463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans often mate with those resembling themselves, a phenomenon described as positive assortative mating (PAM). The causes of this attract broad interest, but there is little agreement on the topic. This may be because empirical studies and reviews sometimes focus on just a few explanations, often based on disciplinary conventions. This review presents an interdisciplinary conceptual framework on the causes of PAM in humans, drawing on human and non-human biology, the social sciences, and the humanities. Viewing causality holistically, we first discuss the proximate causes (i.e. the 'how') of PAM, considering three mechanisms: stratification, convergence and mate choice. We also outline methods to control for confounders when studying mate choice. We then discuss ultimate explanations (i.e. 'the why') for PAM, including adaptive and non-adaptive processes. We conclude by suggesting a focus on interdisciplinarity in future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas M M Versluys
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7PY, United Kingdom
| | - Ewan O Flintham
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7PY, United Kingdom
| | - Alex Mas-Sandoval
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7PY, United Kingdom
| | - Vincent Savolainen
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7PY, United Kingdom
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Hill WD, Arslan RC, Xia C, Luciano M, Amador C, Navarro P, Hayward C, Nagy R, Porteous DJ, McIntosh AM, Deary IJ, Haley CS, Penke L. Genomic analysis of family data reveals additional genetic effects on intelligence and personality. Mol Psychiatry 2018; 23:2347-2362. [PMID: 29321673 PMCID: PMC6294741 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-017-0005-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2017] [Revised: 11/08/2017] [Accepted: 11/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Pedigree-based analyses of intelligence have reported that genetic differences account for 50-80% of the phenotypic variation. For personality traits these effects are smaller, with 34-48% of the variance being explained by genetic differences. However, molecular genetic studies using unrelated individuals typically report a heritability estimate of around 30% for intelligence and between 0 and 15% for personality variables. Pedigree-based estimates and molecular genetic estimates may differ because current genotyping platforms are poor at tagging causal variants, variants with low minor allele frequency, copy number variants, and structural variants. Using ~20,000 individuals in the Generation Scotland family cohort genotyped for ~700,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), we exploit the high levels of linkage disequilibrium (LD) found in members of the same family to quantify the total effect of genetic variants that are not tagged in GWAS of unrelated individuals. In our models, genetic variants in low LD with genotyped SNPs explain over half of the genetic variance in intelligence, education, and neuroticism. By capturing these additional genetic effects our models closely approximate the heritability estimates from twin studies for intelligence and education, but not for neuroticism and extraversion. We then replicated our finding using imputed molecular genetic data from unrelated individuals to show that ~50% of differences in intelligence, and ~40% of the differences in education, can be explained by genetic effects when a larger number of rare SNPs are included. From an evolutionary genetic perspective, a substantial contribution of rare genetic variants to individual differences in intelligence, and education is consistent with mutation-selection balance.
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Affiliation(s)
- W David Hill
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK.
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK.
| | - Ruben C Arslan
- Georg Elias Müller Institute of Psychology, Georg August University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz Science Campus, Primate Cognition, Göttingen, Germany
- Center for Adaptive Rationality Max Planck Institute for Human Development Lentzeallee, 94, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Charley Xia
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Michelle Luciano
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Carmen Amador
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Pau Navarro
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Caroline Hayward
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Reka Nagy
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - David J Porteous
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
- Generation Scotland, Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
- Medical Genetics Section, Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Andrew M McIntosh
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
- Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Edinburgh, EH10 5HF, UK
| | - Ian J Deary
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Chris S Haley
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Lars Penke
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
- Georg Elias Müller Institute of Psychology, Georg August University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz Science Campus, Primate Cognition, Göttingen, Germany
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