title: The Genetics of Success: How Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms Associated With Educational Attainment Relate to Life-Course Development.
abstract: A previous genome-wide association study (GWAS) of more than 100,000 individuals identified molecular-genetic predictors of educational attainment. We undertook in-depth life-course investigation of the polygenic score derived from this GWAS using the four-decade Dunedin Study (N = 918). There were five main findings. First, polygenic scores predicted adult economic outcomes even after accounting for educational attainments. Second, genes and environments were correlated: Children with higher polygenic scores were born into better-off homes. Third, children's polygenic scores predicted their adult outcomes even when analyses accounted for their social-class origins; social-mobility analysis showed that children with higher polygenic scores were more upwardly mobile than children with lower scores. Fourth, polygenic scores predicted behavior across the life course, from early acquisition of speech and reading skills through geographic mobility and mate choice and on to financial planning for retirement. Fifth, polygenic-score associations were mediated by psychological characteristics, including intelligence, self-control, and interpersonal skill. Effect sizes were small. Factors connecting DNA sequence with life outcomes may provide targets for interventions to promote population-wide positive development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine Social Science Research Institute, Duke University dbelsky@duke.edu.
authors.forename: Daniel W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Belsky
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Duke University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University MRC Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Research Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London.
authors.forename: Terrie E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Moffitt
authors.affiliation: Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University.
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Corcoran
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Education, Stanford University.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Domingue
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Duke University.
authors.forename: HonaLee
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Harrington
authors.affiliation: Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health & Development Research Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Otago.
authors.forename: Sean
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hogan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Duke University.
authors.forename: Renate
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Houts
authors.affiliation: Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health & Development Research Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Otago.
authors.forename: Sandhya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ramrakha
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Duke University.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sugden
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Duke University.
authors.forename: Benjamin S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health & Development Research Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Otago.
authors.forename: Richie
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Poulton
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Duke University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University MRC Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Research Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London.
authors.forename: Avshalom
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Caspi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D006803:Human Development / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence / Q000235:genetics*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D020412:Multifactorial Inheritance / Q000235:genetics*; D009520:New Zealand; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics*; D012923:Social Class
keywords: adult development; behavior genetics; genetics; intelligence; personality