ArticleResearch square2025
Genetics of educational attainment and social problem behaviors: Robust estimates of direct genetic effects.
Article in Research square, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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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.
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Abstract
This study examines the genetic underpinnings of (problematic) socioemotional behaviors in children (6-18 years old) by leveraging a within-family trio design using data from the Lifelines cohort (N=3,090-4,510). Socio-emotional development is key to understanding long-term educational, occupational, and mental health outcomes. Yet, their genetic foundations are not fully understood. We estimate direct genetic effects of educational attainment (EA)-related polygenic indices (PGIs), as a whole and decomposed into cognitive (Cog) and non-cognitive (NonCog) components, on a comprehensive set of internalizing and externalizing behaviors assessed via self- and parental-reported Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA) measures. Our findings reveal that higher EA-related PGIs, particularly their cognitive component, are robustly associated with lower levels of attention problems, rule-breaking, and somatic complaints. These effects persist after adjusting for parental genetics, supporting a causal interpretation. Some associations-such as those of the NonCog EA PGI with attention problems and rule-breaking, and of the full EA PGI with externalizing behaviors-lose statistical significance when parental genetics are included, suggesting that small environmentally mediated parental influences may play a role. We also find notable sex differences, with stronger associations in girls, especially for internalizing traits, and observe modest (although insignificant) differences between self- and parent-reported outcomes. Our findings contribute novel evidence that cognitive genetics influence behavioral development and highlight the value of family-based genetic designs for uncovering the complex interplay of genes and environment in socio-emotional functioning.
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