Early manifestations of intellectual performance: Evidence that genetic effects on later academic test performance are mediated through verbal performance in early childhood |
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| Authors: | Chloe Austerberry Pasco Fearon Angelica Ronald Leslie D Leve Jody M Ganiban Misaki N Natsuaki Daniel S Shaw Jenae M Neiderhiser David Reiss |
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| Institution: | 1. Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, UCL, London, UK;2. Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK;3. Prevention Science Institute, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA;4. Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA;5. Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, California, USA;6. Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA;7. Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA;8. Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA |
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| Abstract: | Intellectual performance is highly heritable and robustly predicts lifelong health and success but the earliest manifestations of genetic effects on this asset are not well understood. This study examined whether early executive function (EF) or verbal performance mediate genetic influences on subsequent intellectual performance, in 561 U.S.-based adoptees (57% male) and their birth and adoptive parents (70% and 92% White, 13% and 4% African American, 7% and 2% Latinx, respectively), administered measures in 2003–2017. Genetic influences on children's academic performance at 7 years were mediated by verbal performance at 4.5 years (β = .22, 95% CI 0.08, 0.35], p = .002) and not via EF, indicating that verbal performance is an early manifestation of genetic propensity for intellectual performance. |
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