The Contribution of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills to Intergenerational Social Mobility.

ABSTRACT: We investigated intergenerational educational and occupational mobility in a sample of 2,594 adult offspring and 2,530 of their parents. Participants completed assessments of general cognitive ability and five noncognitive factors related to social achievement; 88% were also genotyped, allowing computation of educational-attainment polygenic scores. Most offspring were socially mobile. Offspring who scored at least 1 standard deviation higher than their parents on both cognitive and noncognitive measures rarely moved down and frequently moved up. Polygenic scores were also associated with social mobility. Inheritance of a favorable subset of parent alleles was associated with moving up, and inheritance of an unfavorable subset was associated with moving down. Parents' education did not mod

SUBMITTER: McGue M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7492724 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature