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Estimating effects of parents’ cognitive and non-cognitive skills on offspring education using polygenic scores

Author

Listed:
  • Perline A. Demange

    (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
    Amsterdam University Medical Centers
    Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

  • Jouke Jan Hottenga

    (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

  • Abdel Abdellaoui

    (University of Amsterdam)

  • Espen Moen Eilertsen

    (University of Oslo
    Norwegian Institute of Public Health)

  • Margherita Malanchini

    (Queen Mary University of London
    King’s College London)

  • Benjamin W. Domingue

    (Stanford University
    Stanford University
    Stanford University)

  • Emma Armstrong-Carter

    (Stanford University
    Stanford University)

  • Eveline L. Zeeuw

    (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
    Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

  • Kaili Rimfeld

    (King’s College London
    Royal Holloway University of London)

  • Dorret I. Boomsma

    (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

  • Elsje Bergen

    (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
    Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

  • Gerome Breen

    (King’s College London
    South London and Maudsley NHS Trust)

  • Michel G. Nivard

    (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

  • Rosa Cheesman

    (University of Oslo
    King’s College London)

Abstract

Understanding how parents’ cognitive and non-cognitive skills influence offspring education is essential for educational, family and economic policy. We use genetics (GWAS-by-subtraction) to assess a latent, broad non-cognitive skills dimension. To index parental effects controlling for genetic transmission, we estimate indirect parental genetic effects of polygenic scores on childhood and adulthood educational outcomes, using siblings (N = 47,459), adoptees (N = 6407), and parent-offspring trios (N = 2534) in three UK and Dutch cohorts. We find that parental cognitive and non-cognitive skills affect offspring education through their environment: on average across cohorts and designs, indirect genetic effects explain 36–40% of population polygenic score associations. However, indirect genetic effects are lower for achievement in the Dutch cohort, and for the adoption design. We identify potential causes of higher sibling- and trio-based estimates: prenatal indirect genetic effects, population stratification, and assortative mating. Our phenotype-agnostic, genetically sensitive approach has established overall environmental effects of parents’ skills, facilitating future mechanistic work.

Suggested Citation

  • Perline A. Demange & Jouke Jan Hottenga & Abdel Abdellaoui & Espen Moen Eilertsen & Margherita Malanchini & Benjamin W. Domingue & Emma Armstrong-Carter & Eveline L. Zeeuw & Kaili Rimfeld & Dorret I. , 2022. "Estimating effects of parents’ cognitive and non-cognitive skills on offspring education using polygenic scores," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-14, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-022-32003-x
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32003-x
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    Cited by:

    1. Tianzhi Gao & Hui Feng, 2024. "Examining the impact of job matching on workers’ non-cognitive skills: insights from China’s labor market," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-8, December.
    2. Evelina T. Akimova & Tobias Wolfram & Xuejie Ding & Felix C. Tropf & Melinda C. Mills, 2025. "Polygenic prediction of occupational status GWAS elucidates genetic and environmental interplay in intergenerational transmission, careers and health in UK Biobank," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 9(2), pages 391-405, February.
    3. Hans Fredrik Sunde & Nikolai Haahjem Eftedal & Rosa Cheesman & Elizabeth C. Corfield & Thomas H. Kleppesto & Anne Caroline Seierstad & Eivind Ystrom & Espen Moen Eilertsen & Fartein Ask Torvik, 2024. "Genetic similarity between relatives provides evidence on the presence and history of assortative mating," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    4. Liang-Dar Hwang & Gabriel Cuellar-Partida & Loic Yengo & Jian Zeng & Jarkko Toivonen & Mikko Arvas & Robin N. Beaumont & Rachel M. Freathy & Gunn-Helen Moen & Nicole M. Warrington & David M. Evans, 2024. "DINGO: increasing the power of locus discovery in maternal and fetal genome-wide association studies of perinatal traits," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-14, December.

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