A Sociogenomic Analysis of the Intergenerational Transmission of Educational Attainment

• In Event: Sociogenomics: The Next Step in Biopsychosocial Research

Abstract

Educational attainment is a robust predictor of a range of outcomes in adulthood. Research has shown individuals who have higher levels of education earn more money, live healthier lifestyles, and are less likely to be involved with the criminal justice system. Two recent strands of research provide the motivation for the present study. First, studies show that romantic pairs tend to correlate highly for educational attainment. Second, recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified genetic markers that correlate with educational attainment and psychologists have used GWAS data to generate polygenic scores for educational attainment. We draw on data from the Health and Retirement Study to test whether romantic pairs correlate at the genomic level for markers that are thought to impact educational attainment. We then extend the focus to multiple generations and assess the degree to which polygenic effects explain the intergenerational transmission of educational attainment from parents to children.

Authors

• J.C. Barnes, University of Cincinnati

• Ryan Motz, University of Cincinnati

• Peter Tanksley, University of Cincinnati

• Hexuan Liu, University of Cincinnati