Robust genetic nurture effects on education: A systematic review and meta-analysis based on 38,654 families across 8 cohorts
Open accessAbstract
Similarities between parents and offspring arise from nature and nurture. Beyond this simple dichotomy, recent genomic studies have uncovered "genetic nurture" effects, whereby parental genotypes influence offspring outcomes via environmental pathways rather than genetic transmission. Such genetic nurture effects also need to be accounted for to accurately estimate "direct" genetic effects (i.e., genetic effects on a trait originating in the offspring). Empirical studies have indicated that genetic nurture effects are particularly relevant to the intergenerational transmission of risk for child educational outcomes, which are, in turn, associated with major psychological and health milestones throughout the life course. These findings have yet to be systematically appraised across contexts. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to quantify genetic nurture effects on educational outcomes. A total of 12 studies comprising 38,654 distinct parent(s)-offspring pairs or trios from 8 cohorts reported 22 estimates of genetic nurture effects. Genetic nurture effects on offspring's educational outcomes (β genetic nurture = 0.08, 95% CI [0.07, 0.09]) were smaller than direct genetic effects (β direct genetic = 0.17, 95% CI [0.13, 0.20]). Findings were largely consistent across studies. Genetic nurture effects originating from mothers and fathers were of similar magnitude, highlighting the need for a greater inclusion of fathers in educational research. Genetic nurture effects were largely explained by observed parental education and socioeconomic status, pointing to their role in environmental pathways shaping child educational outcomes. Findings provide consistent evidence that environmentally mediated parental genetic influences contribute to the intergenerational transmission of educational outcomes, in addition to effects due to genetic transmission.
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Research shows SES to be the major source of between-family genetic effects.
“However, note that research shows SES to be the major source of between-family genetic effects43,75.”
From The impact of digital media on children’s intelligence while controlling for genetic differences in cognition and socioeconomic background (2022) · cites this paper as [75]
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- Authors
- Wang, B., Baldwin, J. R., Schoeler, T., Cheesman, R., Barkhuizen, W., Dudbridge, F., Bann, D., Morris, T. T., & Pingault, J.-B.
- Affiliations
- University College London (GB)
- King's College London (GB)
- University of Leicester (GB)
- University of Bristol (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Pingault, Jean-Baptiste
- ORCID
- Venue
- The American Journal of Human Genetics
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-09
- Volume
- 108
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 1780-1791
- ISSN
- 0002-9297 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8456157
- OpenAlex
- W3194256647
- Cited by
- 103
- References
- 64
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 2
- FWCI
- 3.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- The American Journal of Human Genetics (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (acceptedVersion)
- Bristol Research (University of Bristol) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Explore Bristol Research (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- Wellcome Trust (215917/Z/19/Z, 218641/Z/19/Z)
- Medical Research Council (MR/V002147/1)
- Economic and Social Research Council (ES/M001660/1)
- Nuffield Foundation (EDO/43939)
- University College London
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Keywords
- educational attainment, intergenerational transmission, parental genotypes, direct genetic effects, parent-offspring trios, parental education, socioeconomic status, environmental mediation, nature versus nurture, child educational outcomes
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Child, Educational Status, Family, Female, Genotype, Humans, Male, Parents, Phenotype, Social Class, Cohort Studies, Inheritance Patterns, Gene-Environment Interaction
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