Parent-offspring resemblance for educational attainment reduces with increased social class in a global sample: evidence for the compensatory advantage hypothesis

Introduction: The degree to which (self-reported) social class predicts parent-offspring resemblance for educational attainment (EA) is examined in a globally representative dataset of 69,116 individuals sourced from 56 countries. Methods: A hierarchical general linear model is used to predict participant EA with the two-way interaction between class and parental EA, after controlling for regional effects, the main effects of age, class, parental EA, and interactions among these. Results: Social class-by-parental EA interaction negatively predicts participant EA (semipartial r = −0.04, 95% CI = −0.05 to −0.03), meaning that among those who report belonging to a “higher” social class, the degree of parent-offspring resemblance for EA is reduced, contrary to the Scarr-Rowe hypothesis, which holds that genetic influences on cognitive ability and related phenotypes (captured here in part by parent-offspring resemblance) should be greater among those from higher socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. These results replicate using a quantile regression model, where it was found that among those with lower social class ordinals, the strength of the parent-participant EA association is significantly stronger relative to those in the highest ordinal. No significant sex differences are present. Discussion: These findings are consistent with the compensatory advantage hypothesis, which predicts decreased heritability of EA and related phenotypes among affluent families, as increased access to educational resources should enhance opportunities for cognitive growth in a way that compensates for intrinsic disadvantages. Copyright © 2024 Woodley of Menie, Sarraf, Peñaherrera-Aguirre and Rindermann.Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Development and validation of a Japanese translation of the K-SF-42

In this study, we conducted the translation and validation of the K-SF-42 in Japan (Figueredo, 2017). The K-SF-42 is a new short form of the Arizona Life History Battery. We obtained empirical evidence that the original seven-factor structure could be applied to the Japanese translated version of K-SF-42 (K-SF-42-J). We also observed good internal consistency of the seven scales of K-SF-42-J. The multi-group confirmatory factor analysis findings suggest that the K-SF-42-J can be used in both sexes and diverse age groups. The KSF- 42-J scales showed similar correlates as the English original, with higher scores of other life history strategy measurement, trait emotional intelligence, well-being, and cultural and social resources in childhood. Use of the K-SF-42-J will allow researchers with Japanese speaking samples to integrate their findings with the existing life history strategy research literature. The brevity of the K-SF-42-J will be appealing to researchers who are concerned about taxing the time and motivation of their participants. © 2022 Kawamoto et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]