Biometric analysis of most behavioral phenotypes has revealed minimal evidence of shared environmental influence. Academic achievement in general, and educational attainment specifically, is one behavioral domain where there... [ view full abstract ]
Biometric analysis of most behavioral phenotypes has revealed minimal evidence of shared environmental influence. Academic achievement in general, and educational attainment specifically, is one behavioral domain where there has been consistent evidence of shared environmental influence, raising the question of what parents do to foster the educational achievement of their children. Resolving this question is, however, difficult in intact nuclear families where environmental effects may be confounded with genetic effects (i.e., passive gene-environment correlation). We will use data from the Sibling Interaction and Behavior Study (SIBS) to investigate alternative sources of shared environmental effects on offspring educational attainment.
SIBS is a longitudinal study of 409 adoptive and 208 non-adoptive families and includes 1232 offspring and their rearing parents. SIBS offspring participants have been assessed up to three times, at an average (SD) age of 14.9 (1.9) at intake, 18.3 (2.1) at follow-up 1, and 22.4 (1.9) at follow-up 2. Rate of participation was 94% at the first and 92% at the second follow-up. SIBS participants are currently completing a third follow-up assessment, although results from that follow-up will not be used in this presentation. We will explore four, not necessarily, independent mechanisms by which parents might foster the educational achievement of their children: 1) highly-educated parents create rearing environments that encourage the development of the cognitive and non-cognitive skills underlying academic achievement; 2) high-income parents contribute financially to the education of the children; 3) highly-educated parents establish high academic expectations regardless of their children’s cognitive and non-cognitive skills; and 4) highly-educated parents help their children complete academic tasks (e.g., homework, tutoring).
The unique structure of the SIBS sample will allow us to determine which associations are due to passive gene-environment correlation and which associations are potentially causal. Preliminary analysis revealed partial support for the second (i.e., financial support) and third (i.e., high academic expectations) potential mechanisms, and limited support for the first (i.e., developing academic skills). Interestingly, the fourth mechanism was contra-indicated, as highly-educated parents were less likely than their less well educated peers to work academically with their children (a result we interpret within the context of what R.B. Cattell termed ‘coercion towards the biosocial mean’.)
Education , Genetics , Social and Life impacts
