Genetic associations between non-cognitive skills and academic achievement over development

Margherita Malanchini (), Andrea G. Allegrini (), Michel G. Nivard, Pietro Biroli, Kaili Rimfeld, Rosa Cheesman, Sophie Stumm, Perline A. Demange, Elsje Bergen, Andrew D. Grotzinger, Laurel Raffington, Javier Fuente, Jean-Baptiste Pingault, Elliot M. Tucker-Drob, K. Paige Harden and Robert Plomin
Additional contact information
Margherita Malanchini: Queen Mary University of London
Andrea G. Allegrini: King’s College London
Michel G. Nivard: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Pietro Biroli: Universita’ di Bologna
Kaili Rimfeld: King’s College London
Rosa Cheesman: University of Oslo
Sophie Stumm: University of York
Perline A. Demange: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Elsje Bergen: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Andrew D. Grotzinger: University of Colorado Boulder
Laurel Raffington: Max Planck Institute for Human Development
Javier Fuente: The University of Texas at Austin
Jean-Baptiste Pingault: King’s College London
Elliot M. Tucker-Drob: The University of Texas at Austin
K. Paige Harden: The University of Texas at Austin
Robert Plomin: King’s College London

Nature Human Behaviour, 2024, vol. 8, issue 10, 2034-2046

Abstract: Abstract Non-cognitive skills, such as motivation and self-regulation, are partly heritable and predict academic achievement beyond cognitive skills. However, how the relationship between non-cognitive skills and academic achievement changes over development is unclear. The current study examined how cognitive and non-cognitive skills are associated with academic achievement from ages 7 to 16 years in a sample of over 10,000 children from England and Wales. The results showed that the association between non-cognitive skills and academic achievement increased across development. Twin and polygenic scores analyses found that the links between non-cognitive genetics and academic achievement became stronger over the school years. The results from within-family analyses indicated that non-cognitive genetic effects on academic achievement could not simply be attributed to confounding by environmental differences between nuclear families, consistent with a possible role for evocative/active gene–environment correlations. By studying genetic associations through a developmental lens, we provide further insights into the role of non-cognitive skills in academic development.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-01967-9

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