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Twin and adoption studies have shown that individual difference in political participation can be explained, in part, by geneti variation. However, these research designs cannot identify whic genes are related to voting or the pathways through which the exert influence, and their conclusions rely on possibly restrictiv assumptions. In this study, we use three different US sample and a Swedish sample to test whether genes that have bee identified as associated with educational attainment, one of th strongest correlates of political participation, predict self-reporte and validated voter turnout. We find that a polygenic scor capturing individuals' genetic propensity to acquire education i significantly related to turnout. The strongest associations w observe are in second-order midterm elections in the United State and European Parliament elections in Sweden, which tend t be viewed as less important by voters, parties, and the medi and thus present a more information-poor electoral environmen for citizens to navigate. A within-family analysis suggests tha individuals' education-linked genes directly affect their votin behavior, but, for second-order elections, it also reveals evidenc of genetic nurture. Finally, a mediation analysis suggests that ed ucational attainment and cognitive ability combine to account fo between 41% and 63% of the relationship between the geneti propensity to acquire education and voter turnout.

Twin and adoption studies have shown that individual differences in political participation can be explained, in part, by genetic variation. However, these research designs cannot identify which genes are related to voting or the pathways through which they exert influence, and their conclusions rely on possibly restrictive assumptions. In this study, we use three different US samples and a Swedish sample to test whether genes that have been identified as associated with educational attainment, one of the strongest correlates of political participation, predict self-reported and validated voter turnout. We find that a polygenic score capturing individuals' genetic propensity to acquire education is significantly related to turnout. The strongest associations we observe are in second-ordermidterm elections in the United States and European Parliament elections in Sweden, which tend to be viewed as less important by voters, parties, and the media and thus present a more information-poor electoral environment for citizens to navigate. A within-family analysis suggests that individuals' education-linked genes directly affect their voting behavior, but, for second-order elections, it also reveals evidence of genetic nurture. Finally, a mediation analysis suggests that educational attainment and cognitive ability combine to account for between 41% and 63% of the relationship between the genetic propensity to acquire education and voter turnout.

Polygenic indices (PGI)—the new recommended label for polygenic scores in social science applications—are genetic summary scales often used to represent an individual's liability for a disease, trait, or behavior on the basis of the additive effects of measured genetic variants. Enthusiasm for linking genetic data with social outcomes and the inclusion of premade PGIs in social science data sets have facilitated increased uptake of PGIs in social science research, a trend that will likely continue. Yet most social scientists lack the expertise to interpret and evaluate PGIs in social science research. Here, I provide a primer on PGIs for social scientists focusing on key concepts, unique statistical genetic considerations, and best practices in calculation, estimation, reporting, and interpretation. I summarize recommended best practices as a checklist to aid social scientists in evaluating and interpreting studies with PGIs. I conclude by discussing the similarities between PGIs and standard social science scales and unique interpretative considerations.

Twin and adoption studies have shown that individual differences in political participation can be explained, in part, by genetic variation. However, these research designs cannot identify which genes are related to voting or the pathways through which they exert influence, and their conclusions rely on possibly restrictive assumptions. In this study, we use three different US samples and a Swedish sample to test whether genes that have been identified as associated with educational attainment, one of the strongest correlates of political participation, predict self-reported and validated voter turnout. We find that a polygenic score capturing individuals' genetic propensity to acquire education is significantly related to turnout. The strongest associations we observe are in second-order midterm elections in the United States and European Parliament elections in Sweden, which tend to be viewed as less important by voters, parties, and the media and thus present a more information-poor electoral environment for citizens to navigate. A within-family analysis suggests that individuals' education-linked genes directly affect their voting behavior, but, for second-order elections, it also reveals evidence of genetic nurture. Finally, a mediation analysis suggests that educational attainment and cognitive ability combine to account for between 41% and 63% of the relationship between the genetic propensity to acquire education and voter turnout.

Structural brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) traits share part of their genetic variance with cognitive traits. Here, we use genetic association results from large meta-analytic studies of genome-wide association (GWA) for brain infarcts (BI), white matter hyperintensities, intracranial, hippocampal, and total brain volumes to estimate polygenic scores for these traits in three Scottish samples: Generation Scotland: Scottish Family Health Study (GS:SFHS), and the Lothian Birth Cohorts of 1936 (LBC1936) and 1921 (LBC1921). These five brain MRI trait polygenic scores were then used to: (1) predict corresponding MRI traits in the LBC1936 (numbers ranged 573 to 630 across traits), and (2) predict cognitive traits in all three cohorts (in 8,115–8,250 persons). In the LBC1936, all MRI phenotypic traits were correlated with at least one cognitive measure, and polygenic prediction of MRI traits was observed for intracranial volume. Meta-analysis of the correlations between MRI polygenic scores and cognitive traits revealed a significant negative correlation (maximal r = 0.08) between the HV polygenic score and measures of global cognitive ability collected in childhood and in old age in the Lothian Birth Cohorts. The lack of association to a related general cognitive measure when including the GS:SFHS points to either type 1 error or the importance of using prediction samples that closely match the demographics of the GWA samples from which prediction is based. Ideally, these analyses should be repeated in larger samples with data on both MRI and cognition, and using MRI GWA results from even larger meta-analysis studies.

AbstractThis study examines the temporal and geographical evolution of polygenic scores (PGSs) across cognitive measures (Educational Attainment [EA], Intelligence Quotient [IQ]), Socioeconomic Status (SES), and psychiatric conditions (Autism Spectrum Disorder [ASD], schizophrenia [SCZ]) in various populations. Our findings indicate positive directional selection for EA, IQ, and SES traits over the past 12,000 years. Schizophrenia and autism, while similar, showed different temporal patterns, aligning with theories suggesting they are psychological opposites. We observed a decline in PGS for neuroticism and depression, likely due to their genetic correlations and pleiotropic effects on intelligence. Significant PGS shifts from the Upper Paleolithic to the Neolithic periods suggest lifestyle and cognitive demand changes, particularly during the Neolithic Revolution. The study supports a mild hypothesis of Gregory Clark's model, showing a noticeable rise in genetic propensities for intelligence, academic achievement and professional status across Europe from the Middle Ages to the present. While latitude strongly influenced height, its impact on schizophrenia and autism was smaller and varied. Contrary to the cold winters theory, the study found no significant correlation between latitude and intelligence.

AbstractIt has been hypothesized that even 'perfect' polygenic scores (PGSs) composed of only causal variants may not be fully portable between different social groups owing to gene-by-environment interactions modifying the expression of relevant variants. The impacts of such interactions involving two forms of social adversity (low socioeconomic status [SES] and discrimination) are examined in relation to the expressivity of a PGS for educational attainment composed of putatively causal variants in a large, representatively sampled and genotyped cohort of US children. A relatively small-magnitude Scarr–Rowe effect is present (SES × PGSEDU predicting General Cognitive Ability [GCA]; sR = .02, 95% CI [.00, .04]), as is a distinct discrimination × PGSEDU interaction predicting GCA (sR = −.02, 95% CI [−.05, 00]). Both are independent of the confounding main effects of 10 ancestral principal components, PGSEDU, SES, discrimination and interactions among these factors. No sex differences were found. These interactions were examined in relation to phenotypic and genotypic data on height, a prospectively more socially neutral trait. They were absent in both cases. The discrimination × PGSEDU interaction is a co-moderator of the differences posited in modern versions of Spearman's hypothesis (along with shared environmentality), lending support to certain environmental explanations of those differences. Behavior-genetic analysis of self-reported discrimination indicates that it is nonsignificantly heritable (h2 = .027, 95% CI [−.05, .10]), meaning that it is not merely proxying some underlying source of heritable phenotypic variability. This suggests that experiences of discrimination might stem instead from the action of purely social forces.