Cognitive development in childhood is a key factor affecting adult life chances,
including educational and occupational success. Intergenerational continuity in
cognitive ability is often observed. Thus the persistence of poor cognitive outcomes
across generations may lead to a ‘cycle of disadvantage’ that is difficult to break.
In this thesis, intergenerational associations in cognitive ability between parents and
first-born offspring were examined longitudinally. 1,690 members of the British 1946
birth cohort with at least one offspring constituted the study sample. Cognitive
ability was measured at age eight years in parents and offspring. Social mobility
and parenting practices were examined for their affects on the transmission of
cognitive ability across generations.
Offspring of parents who improved upon the occupational social class of their own
fathers by the time they were aged 26, as well as offspring of parents who remained
in a non-manual class, had higher cognitive scores than those whose
parents remained in a manual social class, or who showed negative
intergenerational mobility. Upwardly mobile and stable non-manual parents were
also more likely to use positive parenting practices. Four measures of parenting
were shown to mediate part of the intergenerational relationship in cognitive ability.
The intellectual home environment, parental aspirations and cognitive
stimulation were positively related with cognitive outcomes in the second generation,
while coercive discipline was negatively associated with offspring ability. Path
analyses revealed that maternal education, but not occupation, was an important
predictor of offspring cognition. The educational attainment of fathers indirectly
influenced the cognitive development of the next generation through its effect on
occupational social class.
For those parents with the lowest and highest ability scores, the quality of the
intellectual environment enabled their offspring to ‘escape’ or replicate parental
cognitive ability respectively. Cognitive stimulation and paternal aspirations helped
offspring to avoid repeating the poor cognitive outcomes of their parents.
These data add to the relatively few studies that examine intergenerational
continuity and discontinuity in cognitive ability. The results provide a basis for
understanding some of the processes by which parenting practices may influence
intergenerational relationships