The Earliest Origins of Genetic Nurture: The Prenatal Environment Mediates the Association between Maternal Genetics and Child Development
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| Title: | The Earliest Origins of Genetic Nurture: The Prenatal Environment Mediates the Association between Maternal Genetics and Child Development |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Armstrong-Carter, Emma (ORCID |
| Source: | Grantee Submission. 2020. |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 32 |
| Publication Date: | 2020 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | National Science Foundation (NSF) Institute of Education Sciences (ED) National Institutes of Health (DHHS) |
| Contract Number: | DGE1656518 R305B140009 R01DK10324 |
| Document Type: | Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Genetics, Mothers, Children, Prenatal Influences, Heredity, Child Development, Correlation, Environmental Influences, Socioeconomic Influences, Predictor Variables, Foreign Countries, Academic Achievement |
| Geographic Terms: | United Kingdom (England) |
| DOI: | 10.1177/0956797620917209 |
| Abstract: | Observed genetic associations with educational attainment may be due to direct or indirect genetic influences. Recent work highlights "genetic nurture," the potential effect of parents' genetics on their child's educational outcomes via rearing environments. To date, few mediating childhood environments have been tested. We used a large sample of genotyped mother-child dyads (N = 2,077) to investigate whether genetic nurture occurs via the prenatal environment. We found that mothers with more education-related genes are generally healthier and more financially stable during pregnancy. Further, measured prenatal conditions explain up to one third of the associations between maternal genetics and children's academic and developmental outcomes at the ages of 4 to 7 years. By providing the first evidence of prenatal genetic nurture and showing that genetic nurture is detectable in early childhood, this study broadens our understanding of how parental genetics may influence children and illustrates the challenges of within-person interpretation of existing genetic associations. [This is the online version of an article published in "Psychological Science."] |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| IES Funded: | Yes |
| Entry Date: | 2020 |
| Accession Number: | ED605890 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Observed genetic associations with educational attainment may be due to direct or indirect genetic influences. Recent work highlights "genetic nurture," the potential effect of parents' genetics on their child's educational outcomes via rearing environments. To date, few mediating childhood environments have been tested. We used a large sample of genotyped mother-child dyads (N = 2,077) to investigate whether genetic nurture occurs via the prenatal environment. We found that mothers with more education-related genes are generally healthier and more financially stable during pregnancy. Further, measured prenatal conditions explain up to one third of the associations between maternal genetics and children's academic and developmental outcomes at the ages of 4 to 7 years. By providing the first evidence of prenatal genetic nurture and showing that genetic nurture is detectable in early childhood, this study broadens our understanding of how parental genetics may influence children and illustrates the challenges of within-person interpretation of existing genetic associations. [This is the online version of an article published in "Psychological Science."] |
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| DOI: | 10.1177/0956797620917209 |
