Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40481017›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Understanding indirect assortative mating and its intergenerational consequences for educational attainment.

Hans Fredrik Sunde, Espen Moen Eilertsen, Fartein Ask Torvik

Abstract readTwin Study
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Genetic confounding in the associations between maternal health and autism.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026
    Article
  2. Parental income and psychiatric disorders from age 10 to 40: a genetically informative population study.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Hans Fredrik SundeCentre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway. hansfredrik.sunde@fhi.no.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8797-5422
Espen Moen EilertsenPROMENTA Research Centre, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3444-4251
Fartein Ask TorvikCentre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3984-5978

Funding

Norges Forskningsråd (Research Council of Norway) 300668
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

We develop a framework for understanding indirect assortative mating and provide updated definitions of key terms. We then develop family models that use partners of twins and siblings to freely estimate the degree of genetic and social homogamy, and account for it when investigating sources of parent-offspring similarity. We applied the models to educational attainment using 1,545,444 individuals in 212,070 extended families in the Norwegian population and Norwegian Twin Registry. Partner similarity in education was better explained by indirect assortment than direct assortment on observed educational attainment, with social homogamy being particularly important. The implied genotypic partner correlation (r = 0.34) was comparable to earlier studies, and higher than expected under direct assortment. About 38% of the parent-offspring correlation (r = 0.34) was attributable to various forms of environmental transmission. Alternative models that assumed direct assortment estimated environmental transmission to be lower, but these did not fit the data well.

Indexed as

Educational StatusMarriageAdolescentAdultFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNorwayRegistriesSiblingsTwinsYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID40481017
PMCPMC12144155

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.