1-159 - Integrating Genetic Discoveries for Educational Attainment and Human Development Research

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of educational attainment published in Science and Nature present challenges and opportunities for human development research. The successful identification of dozens of genomic loci in these GWAS and robust replication of their findings in cohorts from around the world are striking. But a key question remains unanswered: What are GWAS discoveries for educational attainment actually about? What developmental processes and psychological characteristics link DNA with outcomes in school, and possibly beyond? In this symposium, we report new research from cohorts on three continents to address this question. We introduce polygenic scoring as a methodological approach for integrating genome-scale molecular genetic data into developmental science research. We then present developmental genetic analyses of prospective longitudinal studies of human development in the United States, Great Britain, and New Zealand. Follow-up in these studies extends from the early years of life through middle age. The breadth of measurements spans neuropsychological testing, personality, criminal offending, mate selection, migration and economic behavior. Papers include sibling comparisons and intergenerational mobility analyses to address familial confounds. Findings shed light on specific developmental processes and psychological characteristics that link GWAS discoveries with life-course outcomes. Collectively, the papers present a series of models that can be used to integrate GWAS discoveries into developmental science. This integration is discussed in terms of the use of genetic information identify targets for environmental interventions that promote upward social mobility and positive life course development for all children, regardless of their genetic background.

Sub Unit

• Biology and Neuroscience

Chair

• Daniel Walker Belsky, Duke University

Discussant

• Elliot M Tucker-Drob, University of Texas at Austin

Individual Presentations

• The Genetics of Success - Presenting Author: Daniel Walker Belsky, Duke University

• Polygenic Risk and Developmental Trajectories of Antisocial Behavior - Presenting Author: Jasmin Wertz, Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London

• Polygenic Score Analysis of Socioeconomic Mobility and Its Developmental Antecedents in the United States - Presenting Author: Benjamin Domingue, Stanford University