Polygenic Indices and Pathways to Educational Attainment and Early Career Outcomes

• In Event: Biology and Society Section Open Call Paper Session

Abstract

A central concern in stratification research has been identifying channels through which inequality is reproduced. Although sociologists have long studied the influence of family socioeconomic background, cognitive ability, aspirations, and encouragement from significant others the field has only recently begun to examine whether and how genetic differences enter the stratification process. Polygenic indices (PGI) combine information from genetic variants linked to complex behaviors and outcomes (Ma & Zhou, 2021; Sugrue & Desikan, 2019). This enables us to explore whether genetic correlates of educational attainment lead to educational and occupational outcomes independently or work indirectly through the social processes identified in classical status-attainment models. While genetics are not deterministic, they do contribute to individual differences that interact with social environments across the life course. Hence, incorporating PGIs extends long-standing debates about equality of opportunity by clarifying whether the inequalities linked to genetic differences are immutable or can be shaped by social institutions and interventions (Erola et al., 2023).

Authors

• Evelina Akimova, Purdue University

• Wesley Wang, Purdue University

• Robin Stryker, Purdue University