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Sidorchuk A, Brander G, Pérez-Vigil A, Crowley JJ, Larsson H, Lichtenstein P, Mataix-Cols D, Nordsletten AE. One versus two biological parents with mental disorders: Relationship to educational attainment in the next generation. Psychol Med 2023; 53:7025-7041. [PMID: 36545765 PMCID: PMC10719631 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291722003506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2022] [Revised: 10/17/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Both maternal and, separately, paternal mental illness are associated with diminished academic attainment among children. However, the differential impacts of diagnostic type and degree of parental burden (e.g. one v. both parents affected) on these functional outcomes are unknown. METHODS Using the Swedish national patient (NPR) and multi-generation (MGR) registers, 2 226 451 children (1 290 157 parental pairs), born 1 January 1973-31 December 1997, were followed through 31 December 2013. Diagnostic status of all cohort members was defined for eleven psychiatric disorders, and families classed by exposure: (1) parents affected with any disorder, (2) parents affected with a disorder group (e.g. neuropsychiatric disorders), and (3) parents affected with a specific disorder (e.g. ADHD). Pairs were further defined as 'unaffected,' 'single-affected,', or 'dual-affected.' Among offspring, the study evaluated fulfillment of four academic milestones, from compulsory (primary) school through University (college). Sensitivity analyses considered the impact of child's own mental health, as well as parental education, on main effects. RESULTS Marked reductions in the odds of achievement were observed, emerging at the earliest levels of schooling for both single-affected [adjusted odds ratio (aOR), 0.50; 95% CI 0.49-0.51] and dual-affected (aOR 0.29, 95% CI 0.28-0.30) pairs and persisting thereafter [aOR range (single), 0.52-0.65; aOR range (dual), 0.30-0.40]. This pattern was repeated for analyses within diagnosis/diagnostic group. Main results were robust to adjustment for offspring mental health and parent education level. CONCLUSIONS Parental mental illness is associated with profound reductions in educational attainment in the subsequent generation, with children from dual-affected families at uniquely high risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Sidorchuk
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Gustaf Brander
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala Universitet, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Ana Pérez-Vigil
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, Institute of Neuroscience, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - James J. Crowley
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
- Departments of Genetics and Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Henrik Larsson
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- School of Medical Sciences, Örebro Universitet, Örebro, Sweden
| | - Paul Lichtenstein
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - David Mataix-Cols
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ashley E. Nordsletten
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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2
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Lahtinen H, Korhonen K, Martikainen P, Morris T. Polygenic Prediction of Education and Its Role in the Intergenerational Transmission of Education: Cohort Changes Among Finnish Men and Women Born in 1925-1989. Demography 2023; 60:1523-1547. [PMID: 37728435 DOI: 10.1215/00703370-10963788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/21/2023]
Abstract
Major changes in the educational distribution of the population and in institutions over the past century have affected the societal barriers to educational attainment. These changes can possibly result in stronger genetic associations. Using genetically informed, population-representative Finnish surveys linked to administrative registers, we investigated the polygenic associations and intergenerational transmission of education for those born between 1925 and 1989. First, we found that a polygenic index (PGI) designed to capture genetic predisposition to education strongly increased the predictiveness of educational attainment in pre-1950s cohorts, particularly among women. When decomposing the total contribution of PGI across different educational transitions, the transition between the basic and academic secondary tracks was the most important. This transition accounted for 60-80% of the total PGI-education association among most cohorts. The transition between academic secondary and higher tertiary levels increased its contribution across cohorts. Second, for cohorts born between 1955 and 1984, we observed that one eighth of the association between parental and one's own education is explained by the PGI. There was also an increase in the intergenerational correlation of education among these cohorts, which was partly explained by an increasing association between family education of origin and the PGI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannu Lahtinen
- Population Research Unit, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Max Planck-University of Helsinki Center for Social Inequalities in Population Health, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Kaarina Korhonen
- Population Research Unit, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Max Planck-University of Helsinki Center for Social Inequalities in Population Health, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Pekka Martikainen
- Population Research Unit, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany
- Max Planck-University of Helsinki Center for Social Inequalities in Population Health, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Tim Morris
- Centre for Longitudinal Studies, Social Research Institute, University College London, London, UK
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3
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Verweij RM, Keizer R. The intergenerational transmission of educational attainment: A closer look at the (interrelated) roles of paternal involvement and genetic inheritance. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0267254. [PMID: 36508409 PMCID: PMC9744317 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0267254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Numerous studies have documented a strong intergenerational transmission of educational attainment. In explaining this transmission, separate fields of research have studied separate mechanisms. To obtain a more complete understanding, the current study integrates insights from the fields of behavioural sciences and genetics and examines the extent to which paternal involvement and children's polygenic score (PGS) are unique underlying mechanisms, correlate with each other, and/or act as important confounders in the intergenerational transmission of fathers' educational attainment. To answer our research questions, we use rich data from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n = 4,579). Firstly, results from our mediation analyses showed a significant association between fathers' educational attainment and children's educational attainment (0.303). This association is for about 4 per cent accounted for by paternal involvement, whereas a much larger share, 21 per cent, is accounted for by children's education PGS. Secondly, our results showed that these genetic and behavioural factors are significantly correlated with each other (correlations between 0.06 and 0.09). Thirdly, we found support for genetic confounding, as adding children's education PGS to the model reduced the association between paternal involvement and children's educational attainment by 11 per cent. Fourthly, evidence for social confounding was almost negligible (the association between child's education PGS and educational attainment was only reduced by half of a per cent). Our findings highlight the importance of integrating insights and data from multiple disciplines in understanding the mechanisms underlying the intergenerational transmission of inequality, as our study reveals that behavioural and genetic influences overlap, correlate, and confound each other as mechanisms underlying this transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renske Marianne Verweij
- Department of Public Administration and Sociology, Erasmus University of Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- * E-mail:
| | - Renske Keizer
- Department of Public Administration and Sociology, Erasmus University of Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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4
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Ujma PP, Eszlári N, Millinghoffer A, Bruncsics B, Török D, Petschner P, Antal P, Deakin B, Breen G, Bagdy G, Juhász G. Genetic effects on educational attainment in Hungary. Brain Behav 2022; 12:e2430. [PMID: 34843176 PMCID: PMC8785634 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.2430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2020] [Revised: 06/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Educational attainment is a substantially heritable trait, and it has recently been linked to specific genetic variants by genome-wide association studies (GWASs). However, the effects of such genetic variants are expected to vary across environments, including countries and historical eras. METHODS We used polygenic scores (PGSs) to assess molecular genetic effects on educational attainment in Hungary, a country in the Central Eastern European region where behavioral genetic studies are in general scarce and molecular genetic studies of educational attainment have not been previously published. RESULTS We found that the PGS is significantly associated with the attainment of a college degree as well as the number of years in education in a sample of Hungarian study participants (N = 829). PGS effect sizes were not significantly different when compared to an English (N = 976) comparison sample with identical measurement protocols. In line with previous Estonian findings, we found higher PGS effect sizes in Hungarian, but not in English participants who attended higher education after the fall of Communism, although we lacked statistical power for this effect to reach significance. DISCUSSION Our results provide evidence that polygenic scores for educational attainment have predictive value in culturally diverse European populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Péter P Ujma
- Institute of Behavioural Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.,National Institute of Clinical Neuroscience, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Nóra Eszlári
- Department of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.,NAP-2-SE New Antidepressant Target Research Group, Hungarian Brain Research Program, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - András Millinghoffer
- NAP-2-SE New Antidepressant Target Research Group, Hungarian Brain Research Program, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.,Department of Measurement and Information Systems, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Bence Bruncsics
- Department of Measurement and Information Systems, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Dóra Török
- Department of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Péter Petschner
- Department of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.,MTA-SE Neuropsychopharmacology and Neurochemistry Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Péter Antal
- Department of Measurement and Information Systems, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Bill Deakin
- Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.,Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Manchester, UK.,Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK
| | - Gerome Breen
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, King's College London, London, UK
| | - György Bagdy
- Department of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.,NAP-2-SE New Antidepressant Target Research Group, Hungarian Brain Research Program, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.,MTA-SE Neuropsychopharmacology and Neurochemistry Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Gabriella Juhász
- Department of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.,SE-NAP 2 Genetic Brain Imaging Migraine Research Group, Hungarian Brain Research Program, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
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5
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Burger K, Mortimer JT. Socioeconomic origin, future expectations, and educational achievement: A longitudinal three-generation study of the persistence of family advantage. Dev Psychol 2021; 57:1540-1558. [PMID: 34929097 DOI: 10.1037/dev0001238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Expectations about the future direct effort in goal-oriented action and may influence a range of life course outcomes, including educational attainment. Here we investigate whether such expectations are implicated in the dynamics underlying the persistence of educational advantage across family generations, and whether such dynamics have changed in recent decades in view of historical change. Focusing on the role of domain-specific (educational) and general (optimism and control) expectations, we examine parallels across parent-child cohorts in (a) the relationships between parental socioeconomic status (SES) and children's future expectations and (b) the associations between children's future expectations and their academic achievement. We estimate structural equation models using data from the prospective multigenerational Youth Development Study (N = 422 three-generation triads [G1-G2-G3]; G1 Mage in 1988 = 41.0 years, G2 Mage in 1989 = 14.7 years, G3 Mage in 2011 = 15.8 years; G2 White in 1989 = 66.4%, G3 White in 2011 = 64.4%; G1 mean annual household income, converted to 2008 equivalents = $41,687, G2 mean annual household income in 2008 dollars = $42,962; G1 mode of educational attainment = high school, G2 mode of educational attainment = some college). We find intergenerational similarity in the relationships between parental educational attainment and children's future expectations. Children's educational expectations strongly predicted their academic achievement in the second generation, but not in the third generation. With educational expansion, the more recent cohort had higher educational expectations that were less strongly related to achievement. Overall, the findings reveal dynamics underlying the persistence of educational success across generations. The role of future expectations in this intergenerational process varies across historical time, confirming a central conclusion of life span developmental psychology and life course sociological research that individual functioning is influenced by sociocultural contexts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaspar Burger
- Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development, University of Zurich
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6
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Jami ES, Hammerschlag AR, Bartels M, Middeldorp CM. Parental characteristics and offspring mental health and related outcomes: a systematic review of genetically informative literature. Transl Psychiatry 2021; 11:197. [PMID: 33795643 PMCID: PMC8016911 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-021-01300-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2020] [Revised: 02/19/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Various parental characteristics, including psychiatric disorders and parenting behaviours, are associated with offspring mental health and related outcomes in observational studies. The application of genetically informative designs is crucial to disentangle the role of genetic and environmental factors (as well as gene-environment correlation) underlying these observations, as parents provide not only the rearing environment but also transmit 50% of their genes to their offspring. This article first provides an overview of behavioural genetics, matched-pair, and molecular genetics designs that can be applied to investigate parent-offspring associations, whilst modelling or accounting for genetic effects. We then present a systematic literature review of genetically informative studies investigating associations between parental characteristics and offspring mental health and related outcomes, published since 2014. The reviewed studies provide reliable evidence of genetic transmission of depression, criminal behaviour, educational attainment, and substance use. These results highlight that studies that do not use genetically informative designs are likely to misinterpret the mechanisms underlying these parent-offspring associations. After accounting for genetic effects, several parental characteristics, including parental psychiatric traits and parenting behaviours, were associated with offspring internalising problems, externalising problems, educational attainment, substance use, and personality through environmental pathways. Overall, genetically informative designs to study intergenerational transmission prove valuable for the understanding of individual differences in offspring mental health and related outcomes, and mechanisms of transmission within families.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eshim S Jami
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
- Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK.
| | - Anke R Hammerschlag
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam University Medical Centres, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Child Health Research Centre, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Meike Bartels
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam University Medical Centres, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Christel M Middeldorp
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Child Health Research Centre, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Child and Youth Mental Health Service, Children's Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
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7
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Stallings MC, Neppl T. An examination of genetic and environmental factors related to negative personality traits, educational attainment, and economic success. Dev Psychol 2021; 57:191-199. [PMID: 33539127 DOI: 10.1037/dev0001131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Personality variables are associated with educational attainment and socioeconomic outcomes. In this study we incorporated a polygenic score derived from the largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) of educational attainment to date (Lee et al., 2018) into the Interactionist Model of R. D. Conger, Martin, and Masarik (2021) that describes the influence of socioeconomic factors on individual development. The inclusion of a polygenic score predictive of educational attainment (PS-Edu) into this model, and the use of the multigeneration, longitudinal Family Transitions Project (FTP) provide a unique opportunity to investigate genetic and environmental influences on the development of negative personality traits and educational and economic outcomes. The FTP is a three-generation sample. This study utilized data from the first generation (G1; mean age 40 at initiation of the FTP) and second generation (G2; assessed at mean ages 18 and 30). Participants are approximately 50% female, 99% of European ancestry, primarily from lower to middle class SES. PS-Edu was significantly correlated with educational attainment in both generations of the FTP, accounting for 4.1 to 6.7% of the variance. Findings confirm that PS-Edu is a complex genetic index that is correlated with all of the socioeconomic constructs in the model. Results suggest potential gene-environment correlation or common genetic influences underlie associations among parenting investments, negative personality traits, and educational attainment. Genetic variance captured by PS-Edu was mediated substantially through G1 parental investments. Although study limitations warrant cautious interpretation, we demonstrate the promise of including polygenic scores in developmental models to better understand genetic and environmental influences on human development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tricia Neppl
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies
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8
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Marks GN. Occupational mobility and cognitive ability: A commentary on Betthäuser, Bourne and Bukodi. THE BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY 2020; 71:898-901. [PMID: 33016338 DOI: 10.1111/1468-4446.12777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2020] [Revised: 05/13/2020] [Accepted: 06/26/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
This commentary critiques Betthäuser, Bourne and Bukodi's (2020) paper which finds that cognitive ability does not substantially mediate class of origin effects on educational and occupational outcomes. From these results, they conclude that cognitive ability is only of minor importance for social stratification, reasserting their view of the primacy of class origins for social stratification. The central issue surrounding cognitive ability in social stratification is its effects on socioeconomic attainments vis-à-vis socioeconomic origins, not the extent that cognitive ability mediates classorigin effects. Their analytical strategy of estimating the extent that cognitive ability mediates class origineffects is misleading because: it ignores the only moderate associations of socioeconomic origins with educational and occupational outcomes; the stronger direct effects of cognitive ability; the associations of parents' ability with their own socioeconomic attainments; and the genetic transmission of cognitive ability and other traits relevant to social stratification from parents to their children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gary N Marks
- School of Political and Social Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
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9
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McGue M, Willoughby EA, Rustichini A, Johnson W, Iacono WG, Lee JJ. The Contribution of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills to Intergenerational Social Mobility. Psychol Sci 2020; 31:835-847. [PMID: 32603210 DOI: 10.1177/0956797620924677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
We investigated intergenerational educational and occupational mobility in a sample of 2,594 adult offspring and 2,530 of their parents. Participants completed assessments of general cognitive ability and five noncognitive factors related to social achievement; 88% were also genotyped, allowing computation of educational-attainment polygenic scores. Most offspring were socially mobile. Offspring who scored at least 1 standard deviation higher than their parents on both cognitive and noncognitive measures rarely moved down and frequently moved up. Polygenic scores were also associated with social mobility. Inheritance of a favorable subset of parent alleles was associated with moving up, and inheritance of an unfavorable subset was associated with moving down. Parents' education did not moderate the association of offspring's skill with mobility, suggesting that low-skilled offspring from advantaged homes were not protected from downward mobility. These data suggest that cognitive and noncognitive skills as well as genetic factors contribute to the reordering of social standing that takes place across generations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matt McGue
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota
| | | | | | - Wendy Johnson
- Department of Psychology, The University of Edinburgh
- Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, The University of Edinburgh
| | | | - James J Lee
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota
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10
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Armstrong-Carter E, Trejo S, Hill LJB, Crossley KL, Mason D, Domingue BW. The Earliest Origins of Genetic Nurture: The Prenatal Environment Mediates the Association Between Maternal Genetics and Child Development. Psychol Sci 2020; 31:781-791. [PMID: 32484377 DOI: 10.1177/0956797620917209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Observed genetic associations with educational attainment may be due to direct or indirect genetic influences. Recent work highlights genetic nurture, the potential effect of parents' genetics on their child's educational outcomes via rearing environments. To date, few mediating childhood environments have been tested. We used a large sample of genotyped mother-child dyads (N = 2,077) to investigate whether genetic nurture occurs via the prenatal environment. We found that mothers with more education-related genes are generally healthier and more financially stable during pregnancy. Further, measured prenatal conditions explain up to one third of the associations between maternal genetics and children's academic and developmental outcomes at the ages of 4 to 7 years. By providing the first evidence of prenatal genetic nurture and showing that genetic nurture is detectable in early childhood, this study broadens our understanding of how parental genetics may influence children and illustrates the challenges of within-person interpretation of existing genetic associations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sam Trejo
- Graduate School of Education, Stanford University
| | - Liam J B Hill
- School of Psychology, University of Leeds.,Born in Bradford, Bradford Institute for Health Research, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
| | - Kirsty L Crossley
- Born in Bradford, Bradford Institute for Health Research, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
| | - Dan Mason
- Born in Bradford, Bradford Institute for Health Research, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
| | - Benjamin W Domingue
- Graduate School of Education, Stanford University.,Center for Population Health Sciences, Stanford University
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11
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12
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O'Connell M. Is the impact of SES on educational performance overestimated? Evidence from the PISA survey. INTELLIGENCE 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2019.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
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13
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Weinberg D, Stevens GWJM, Finkenauer C, Brunekreef B, Smit HA, Wijga AH. The pathways from parental and neighbourhood socioeconomic status to adolescent educational attainment: An examination of the role of cognitive ability, teacher assessment, and educational expectations. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0216803. [PMID: 31116770 PMCID: PMC6530860 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2018] [Accepted: 04/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Adolescents with high educational attainment generally have better outcomes across the lifespan than adolescents with lower educational attainment. This study investigated how three measures of socioeconomic status (SES)–maternal education, paternal education, and neighbourhood SES–combined to predict adolescent educational attainment (track level at age 17). We proposed three mechanisms for this pathway: cognitive ability (at age 11), primary school teacher assessment (stating the secondary education level suitable for a child at age 11), and educational expectations (at age 14). Using the data of 2,814 Dutch adolescents from the Prevention and Incidence of Asthma and Mite Allergy (PIAMA) study, logistic regressions tested associations between SES and educational attainment. Structural equation modelling (SEM) tested mediational pathways between SES and educational attainment. In models with three SES measures, having a medium-educated mother was associated with higher educational attainment relative to having a low-educated mother (OR; 95% CI: 1.83; 1.41–2.38), and having a high-educated mother was associated with higher educational attainment relative to having a low-educated mother (OR; 95% CI: 3.44; 2.59–4.55). The odds ratios for paternal education showed a similar pattern. We found no association between neighbourhood SES and adolescent educational attainment, so neighbourhood SES was removed from further analyses. Mediational analyses revealed that cognitive ability (30.0%), teacher assessment (28.5%), and educational expectations (1.2%) explained 59.8% of the total association between parental SES and educational attainment. The results showed that mother education and father education were both important for understanding the strong association between parental SES and adolescent educational attainment. In the Netherlands, the association between parental SES and educational attainment can be largely explained by cognitive ability and teacher assessments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominic Weinberg
- Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- * E-mail:
| | - Gonneke W. J. M. Stevens
- Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Catrin Finkenauer
- Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Bert Brunekreef
- Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Division of Environmental Epidemiology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Henriëtte A. Smit
- Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Alet H. Wijga
- Centre for Prevention and Health Services Research, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
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14
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Ayorech Z, Plomin R, von Stumm S. Using DNA to predict educational trajectories in early adulthood. Dev Psychol 2019; 55:1088-1095. [PMID: 30702313 PMCID: PMC6522355 DOI: 10.1037/dev0000682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
At the end of compulsory schooling, young adults decide on educational and occupational trajectories that impact their subsequent employability, health and even life expectancy. To understand the antecedents to these decisions, we follow a new approach that considers genetic contributions, which have largely been ignored before. Using genomewide polygenic scores (EA3) from the most recent genomewide association study of years of education in 1.1 million individuals, we tested for genetic influence on early adult decisions in a United Kingdom-representative sample of 5,839 at 18 years of age. EA3 significantly predicted educational trajectories in early adulthood (Nagelkerke R2 = 10%), χ2(4) = 571.77, p < .001, indicating that young adults partly adapt their aspirations to their genetic propensities-a concept known as gene-environment correlation. Compared to attending university, a 1 standard deviation increase in EA3 was associated on average with a 51% reduction in the odds of pursuing full-time employment (OR = .47; 95% CI [.43, .51]); an apprenticeship (OR = .49; 95% CI [.45, .54]); or not going in education, employment, or training (OR = .50; 95% CI [.41, .60]). EA3 associations were attenuated when controlling for previous academic achievement and family socioeconomic status. Overall this research illustrates how DNA-based predictions offer novel opportunities for studying the sociodevelopmental structures of life outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziada Ayorech
- King's College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Robert Plomin
- King's College London, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Sophie von Stumm
- Department of Education, University of York, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, UK
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15
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Verhoef E, Demontis D, Burgess S, Shapland CY, Dale PS, Okbay A, Neale BM, Faraone SV, Stergiakouli E, Davey Smith G, Fisher SE, Børglum AD, St Pourcain B. Disentangling polygenic associations between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, educational attainment, literacy and language. Transl Psychiatry 2019; 9:35. [PMID: 30679418 PMCID: PMC6345874 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-018-0324-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2018] [Accepted: 11/13/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Interpreting polygenic overlap between ADHD and both literacy-related and language-related impairments is challenging as genetic associations might be influenced by indirectly shared genetic factors. Here, we investigate genetic overlap between polygenic ADHD risk and multiple literacy-related and/or language-related abilities (LRAs), as assessed in UK children (N ≤ 5919), accounting for genetically predictable educational attainment (EA). Genome-wide summary statistics on clinical ADHD and years of schooling were obtained from large consortia (N ≤ 326,041). Our findings show that ADHD-polygenic scores (ADHD-PGS) were inversely associated with LRAs in ALSPAC, most consistently with reading-related abilities, and explained ≤1.6% phenotypic variation. These polygenic links were then dissected into both ADHD effects shared with and independent of EA, using multivariable regressions (MVR). Conditional on EA, polygenic ADHD risk remained associated with multiple reading and/or spelling abilities, phonemic awareness and verbal intelligence, but not listening comprehension and non-word repetition. Using conservative ADHD-instruments (P-threshold < 5 × 10-8), this corresponded, for example, to a 0.35 SD decrease in pooled reading performance per log-odds in ADHD-liability (P = 9.2 × 10-5). Using subthreshold ADHD-instruments (P-threshold < 0.0015), these effects became smaller, with a 0.03 SD decrease per log-odds in ADHD risk (P = 1.4 × 10-6), although the predictive accuracy increased. However, polygenic ADHD-effects shared with EA were of equal strength and at least equal magnitude compared to those independent of EA, for all LRAs studied, and detectable using subthreshold instruments. Thus, ADHD-related polygenic links with LRAs are to a large extent due to shared genetic effects with EA, although there is evidence for an ADHD-specific association profile, independent of EA, that primarily involves literacy-related impairments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellen Verhoef
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
- International Max Planck Research School for Language Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Ditte Demontis
- The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, iPSYCH, Aarhus, Denmark
- Centre for Integrative Sequencing, iSEQ, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Biomedicine-Human Genetics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Stephen Burgess
- MRC Biostatistics Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Chin Yang Shapland
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Philip S Dale
- Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA
| | - Aysu Okbay
- Department of Complex Trait Genetics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Erasmus University Rotterdam Institute for Behavior and Biology, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Benjamin M Neale
- Analytic and Translational Genetics Unit, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Stephen V Faraone
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience and Physiology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, New York, USA
| | - Evie Stergiakouli
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- School of Oral and Dental Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - George Davey Smith
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Simon E Fisher
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Anders D Børglum
- The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, iPSYCH, Aarhus, Denmark
- Centre for Integrative Sequencing, iSEQ, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Biomedicine-Human Genetics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Beate St Pourcain
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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Abstract
Intelligence - the ability to learn, reason and solve problems - is at the forefront of behavioural genetic research. Intelligence is highly heritable and predicts important educational, occupational and health outcomes better than any other trait. Recent genome-wide association studies have successfully identified inherited genome sequence differences that account for 20% of the 50% heritability of intelligence. These findings open new avenues for research into the causes and consequences of intelligence using genome-wide polygenic scores that aggregate the effects of thousands of genetic variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Plomin
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Sophie von Stumm
- Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, London School of Economics and Political Science, Queens House, 55-56 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3LJ, UK
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