Title | Social and Genetic Pathways in Multigenerational Transmission of Educational Attainment |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2018 |
Authors | Liu, H |
Journal | American Sociological Review |
Volume | 83 |
Issue | 2 |
Pagination | 278-304 |
Date Published | 04/2018 |
ISSN Number | 0003-1224 |
Keywords | Education, Genetics, Genome, Multigenerational |
Abstract | This study investigates the complex roles of the social environment and genes in the multigenerational transmission of educational attainment. Drawing on genome-wide data and educational attainment measures from the Framingham Heart Study (FHS) and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), I conduct polygenic score analyses to examine genetic confounding in the estimation of parents’ and grandparents’ influences on their children’s and grandchildren’s educational attainment. I also examine social genetic effects (i.e., genetic effects that operate through the social environment) in the transmission of educational attainment across three generations. Two-generation analyses produce three important findings. First, about one-fifth of the parent-child association in education reflects genetic inheritance. Second, up to half of the association between parents’ polygenic scores and children’s education is mediated by parents’ education. Third, about one-third of the association between children’s polygenic scores and their educational attainment is attributable to parents’ genotypes and education. Three-generation analyses suggest that genetic confounding on the estimate of the direct effect of grandparents’ education on grandchildren’s education (net of parents’ education) may be inconsequential, and I find no evidence that grandparents’ genotypes significantly influence grandchildren’s education through non-biological pathways. The three-generation results are suggestive, and the results may change when different samples are used. |
DOI | 10.1177/0003122418759651 |
Short Title | Am Sociol Rev |
Citation Key | 9545 |