2025/12/05 by Qingying Peng, Espen Moen Eilertsen, Rosa Cheesman +3 · 1 voice
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Cognitive Abilities and Testing #Cohort #Educational attainment #Genetic Associations and Epidemiology #Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies #Norwegian #Offspring #Social mobility #Trait #Variance (accounting)
paper · doi:10.64898/2025.12.03.691991
published in bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
openalex publication_date 2025/12/05 · openalex created_date 2025/12/08 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Abstract Educational achievement is a key predictor of later-life outcomes, including financial security, social mobility, health, and mortality. Knowing its familial determinants, such as genetic predispositions, is crucial for understanding intergenerational educational mobility and addressing educational inequality. Here, we disentangle direct and indirect genetic effects on educational achievement using trio genome-wide complex trait analysis (Trio-GCTA). Leveraging up to 23,200 genotyped parent–offspring trios from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa), we find that direct genetic effects explain 15-21% of the variance in educational achievements, including 8th-grade national assessments in Math, Reading, and English, and 10th-grade grade point average (GPA). Notably, indirect genetic effects additionally explain 7-15% of the variance. Both mothers and fathers exert notable influences, exceeding those suggested in previous studies. Moreover, positive gene–environment correlations between parents and offspring show that the intrafamilial environment and children’s genetic predisposition are dependent and mutually reinforcing.