Malanchini, Margherita, Allegrini, Andrea G., Nivard, Michel G. et al. (13 more authors) (2024) Genetic associations between non-cognitive skills and academic achievement over development. Nature Human Behaviour. ISSN 2397-3374
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.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Social Sciences (York) > Education (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 20 Sep 2024 15:50 |
Last Modified: | 16 Oct 2024 20:08 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-01967-9 |
Status: | Published online |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/s41562-024-01967-9 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:217477 |