A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Associations between genetic predisposition to mental health problems and academic achievement: a developmental perspective using two population‐based cohorts
Authors: Larose, Marie‐Pier; Schuurmans, Isabel; Barker, Edward D.; Garcia Mondragon, Liliana; Tiemeier, Henning; Waldman, Irwin; Cecil, Charlotte
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
Publication year: 2025
Journal: Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
Article number: jcpp.70043
ISSN: 0021-9630
eISSN: 1469-7610
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.70043
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.70043
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/500138346
Background
Children's cognitive abilities play an important role throughout their academic career, but recent studies highlight the negative impacts of aggression, inattention, and impulsivity on academic success. These behaviors and traits are central to most externalizing (EXT) and neurodevelopmental (NDD) problems, which are substantially genetically influenced. We examined the mechanisms by which high levels of genetic predispositions to EXT and NDD problems associate with elevated mental health symptoms and subsequently lead to lower levels of academic achievement in two developmental periods (i.e., childhood and adolescence).
MethodsAnalyses were performed on a subset of participants from the Generation R Study (N = 2,992) and the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) (N = 5,099). Using structural equation modeling, we simultaneously tested for indirect pathways between polygenic scores for externalizing and neurodevelopmental problems (PGS-EXT and PGS-NDD) and academic achievement (age 12 in the Generation R Study and age 16 in ALSPAC) via children's symptomatology for conduct, attention, social, and oppositional defiant problems reported by mothers during early childhood (Generation R Study) and from childhood to adolescence (ALSPAC study). Our models were adjusted for children's sex, exposure to adversity, cognitive abilities, early school achievement (only in ALSPAC), and genetic predisposition to educational attainment.
ResultsIn both cohorts, we found that higher levels of PGS-NDD were associated with lower levels of academic achievement via higher attention problems. In adolescence only, we found that higher levels of PGS-NDD and PGS-EXT were associated with lower academic achievement via higher levels of conduct problems.
ConclusionsGenetic predispositions to EXT and NDD were indirectly associated with academic achievement beyond the PGS for educational attainment, highlighting the need for sustained efforts to support children with attention problems in educational settings and to intervene on conduct problems, particularly during adolescence.
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Funding information in the publication:
The UK Medical Research Council and Wellcome (Grant ref: 217065/Z/19/Z) and the University of Bristol provide core support for ALSPAC. This publication is the work of the authors, and the Dr. Marie-Pier Larose will serve as guarantors for the contents of this paper.
Genome-wide genotyping data was generated by Sample Logistics and Genotyping Facilities at Wellcome Sanger Institute and LabCorp (Laboratory Corporation of America) using support from 23andMe. This research was specifically funded by the Department for Education and Skills, grant reference: EOR/SBU/2002/121. A comprehensive list of grants funding is available at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/alspac/external/documents/grant-acknowledgements.pdf.
The general design of the Generation R Study is made possible by financial support from Erasmus MC, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development, and the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport.
