Social and genetic associations with educational performance in a Scandinavian welfare state.

Recent research has suggested that across Western developed societies, the influence of genetics on educational outcomes is relatively constant. However, the degree to which family environment matters varies, such that countries with high levels of intergenerational mobility have weaker associations of family background. Research in this vein has relied on twin-based estimates, which involve variance decomposition, so direct assessment of the association of genes and environments is not possible. In the present study, we approach the question by directly measuring the impact of child genotype, parental genetic nurture, and parental realized education on educational achievement in primary and secondary school. We deploy data from a social democratic context (Norway) and contrast our findings with those derived from more liberal welfare state contexts. Results point to genetics only confounding the relationship between parent status and offspring achievement to a small degree. Genetic nurture associations are similar to those in other societies. We find no, or very small, gene-environment interactions and parent-child genotype interactions with respect to test scores. In sum, in a Scandinavian welfare state context, both genetic and environmental associations are of similar magnitude as in societies with less-robust efforts to mitigate the influence of family background.

Education and Income Show Heterogeneous Relationships to Lifespan Brain and Cognitive Differences Across European and US Cohorts.

Higher socio-economic status (SES) has been proposed to have facilitating and protective effects on brain and cognition. We ask whether relationships between SES, brain volumes and cognitive ability differ across cohorts, by age and national origin. European and US cohorts covering the lifespan were studied (4-97 years, N = 500 000; 54 000 w/brain imaging). There was substantial heterogeneity across cohorts for all associations. Education was positively related to intracranial (ICV) and total gray matter (GM) volume. Income was related to ICV, but not GM. We did not observe reliable differences in associations as a function of age. SES was more strongly related to brain and cognition in US than European cohorts. Sample representativity varies, and this study cannot identify mechanisms underlying differences in associations across cohorts. Differences in neuroanatomical volumes partially explained SES-cognition relationships. SES was more strongly related to ICV than to GM, implying that SES-cognition relations in adulthood are less likely grounded in neuroprotective effects on GM volume in aging. The relatively stronger SES-ICV associations rather are compatible with SES-brain volume relationships being established early in life, as ICV stabilizes in childhood. The findings underscore that SES has no uniform association with, or impact on, brain and cognition.

Parental income gradients in adult health: a national cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Disparities in health by adult income are well documented, but we know less about the childhood origins of health inequalities, and it remains unclear how the shape of the gradient varies across health conditions. This study examined the association between parental income in childhood and several measures of morbidity in adulthood. METHODS: We used administrative data on seven complete Norwegian birth cohorts born in 1967-1973 (N = 429,886) to estimate the association between parental income from birth to age 18, obtained from tax records available from 1967, linked with administrative registries on health. Health measures, observed between ages 39 and 43, were taken from registry data on consultations at primary health care services based on diagnostic codes from the International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC-2) and hospitalizations and outpatient specialist consultations registered in the National Patient Registry (ICD-10). RESULTS: Low parental income during childhood was associated with a higher risk of being diagnosed with several chronic and pain-related disorders, as well as hospitalization, but not overall primary health care use. Absolute differences were largest for disorders related to musculoskeletal pain, injuries, and depression (7-9 percentage point difference). There were also differences for chronic disorders such as hypertension (8%, CI 7.9-8.5 versus 4%, CI 4.1-4.7) and diabetes (3.2%, CI 3.0-3.4 versus 1.4%, CI 1.2-1.6). There was no difference in consultations related to respiratory disorders (20.9%, CI 20.4-21.5 versus 19.7%, CI 19.2-20.3). Childhood characteristics (parental education, low birth weight, and parental marital status) and own adult characteristics (education and income) explained a large share of the association. CONCLUSIONS: Children growing up at the bottom of the parental income distribution, compared to children in the top of the income distribution, had a two- to threefold increase in somatic and psychological disorders measured in adulthood. This shows that health inequalities by socioeconomic family background persist in a Scandinavian welfare-state context with universal access to health care.

Immigrant mothers' preferences for children's sexes: A register-based study of fertility behaviour in Norway.

Parental sex preferences have been documented in many native populations, but much less evidence is available on immigrants' preferences for the sexes of their children. Using high-quality longitudinal register data from Norway, a country with a recent immigration history, we estimate hazards regression models of third birth risks by the sex composition of the first two children. A central question in the extant literature is whether the sex preferences of immigrant mothers match those observed in their country of origin, or if cultural adaption to local conditions is more important. Our analyses indicate that the sex preferences of immigrants generally match those previously documented for their native population, especially in the case of son preferences. The pattern of sex preferences is unmodified by the mother's exposure to the host society. In sum, our evidence generally supports theories emphasizing cultural persistence in preferences, rather than theories of adaption or immigrant selectivity.

Correlation between cognitive ability and educational attainment weakens over birth cohorts.

Educational attainment is a key indicator of status and opportunity in meritocratic societies. However, it is unclear how educational expansion has affected the link between cognitive abilities and educational attainment. As a result, this study examines the correlation between cognitive ability and educational attainment across male birth cohorts in Norway. Utilizing administrative register data covering more than four decades, we investigate multiple measures of educational attainment and their connection to cognitive abilities. Our findings reveal a consistent decline in the correlation over time. These findings question the assumed shift towards meritocracy in educational systems and highlight a more complex relationship between cognitive ability and educational attainment.

Is mortality after childhood cancer dependent on social or economic resources of parents? A population-based study.

Diagnostic and treatment protocols for childhood cancer are generally standardized, and therefore, survival ought to be fairly equal across social strata in societies with free public health care readily available. Nevertheless, our study explores whether there are disparities in mortality after childhood cancer in Norway depending on socioeconomic status of parents. Limited knowledge on differentials exists from earlier analyses. Discrete-time hazard regression models for all-cause mortality for the first 10 years after diagnosis were estimated for all Norwegian children (younger than 20 years), who were diagnosed with cancer during 1974-2007 (N = 6,280), using data from five national registers. Mortality was reduced by about 15% for children with highly educated mothers and children without siblings. These effects were most pronounced for cancers predicted to encompass intense, long-lasting treatments resulting in chronic health problems. Neither earnings nor the marital status of parents affected children's survival. This large, registry-based study suggests that time constraints and various noneconomic rewards of parents from their education appears to have an impact on childhood cancer survival. It may be that children with resourceful parents are healthier at the outset and/or are more likely to avoid later health problems. It may also be that children of well-informed and strongly involved parents are offered better treatment or are able to make better use of what is offered, for instance, by adhering more closely to recommendations for follow-up treatment. The possibility of such differentials in offered and actual treatment should be addressed in future research.

Trends in educational inequalities in mortality, seven types of cancers, Norway 1971-2002.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge about educational disparities in deaths from specific cancer sites is incomplete. Even more scant is information about time trends in educational patterns in specific cancer mortality. This study examines educational inequalities in Norway 1971-2002 for mortality in lung and larynx, colorectal, stomach, melanoma, prostate, breast and cervix uteri cancer. METHODS: A data file encompassing all Norwegian inhabitants registered some time during 1971-2002 while aged 45-74 was constructed with linked information from administrative registers. During an exposure of more than 40 millions person-years, about 87,000 deaths in the analysed cancer types were registered. Absolute and relative inequalities during three periods were analysed by age-standardized deaths rates, hazard regression odds ratios and Relative Index of Inequality. RESULTS: Educational inequalities in lung and related cancer mortality widened considerably from the 1970s to the 1990s for both sexes. The moderate educational gradient for stomach and cervix uteri cancer persisted, as did the weak gradient for colorectal cancer. No educational differences in prostate cancer were observed in any of the time periods. The modest inverse educational gradients in deaths from breast cancer and melanoma remained at the same level. CONCLUSION: Among the seven cancer types examined in this study, only lung cancer mortality showed a clear widening in educational disparities. As lung cancer mortality constitutes a large proportion of all cancer deaths, this increase may result in larger disparities for overall cancer mortality. Some explanations for the observed patterns in cancer mortality are suggested.

Birth order differences in education originate in postnatal environments.

Siblings share many environments and much of their genetics. Yet, siblings turn out different. Intelligence and education are influenced by birth order, with earlier-born siblings outperforming later-borns. We investigate whether birth order differences in education are caused by biological differences present at birth, that is, genetic differences or in utero differences. Using family data that spans two generations, combining registry, survey, and genotype information, this study is based on the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). We show that there are no genetic differences by birth order as captured by polygenic scores (PGSs) for educational attainment. Earlier-born have lower birth weight than later-born, indicating worse uterine environments. Educational outcomes are still higher for earlier-born children when we adjust for PGSs and in utero variables, indicating that birth order differences arise postnatally. Finally, we consider potential environmental influences, such as differences according to maternal age, parental educational attainment, and sibling genetic nurture. We show that birth order differences are not biological in origin, but pinning down their specific causes remains elusive.

Effects of Covid-19 lockdown on parental functioning in vulnerable families.

Objective: The aim of this study was to increase the knowledge about how the initial Covid-19 lockdown influenced parental functioning in vulnerable families. Background: The Covid-19 pandemic has caused major changes to family life. Using a natural experiment design can potentially adjudicate on former inconclusive findings about the effects of lockdown on parental functioning in vulnerable families. Method: Responses from parents in a sample of potentially vulnerable families in Norway were divided into a lockdown group if participating at baseline and during the initial Covid-19 lockdown (n = 820 responses) or into a control group if participating at baseline and before lockdown (n = 1368 responses). Mixed model regression analyses were used to mimic a wait-list design investigating direct lockdown effects on mental health, parenting stress, and three aspects of interparental conflicts, as well as moderation effects. Results: The lockdown group showed significantly higher levels of parenting stress compared with the control group, but no aversive lockdown effect on mental health or destructive conflicts were found. In fact, decreased levels of verbal aggression and child involvement in conflict were found during lockdown among parents living apart. Pre-existing financial problems and conflict levels, age of youngest child, and parent gender did not moderate the lockdown effects. Conclusion: The initial lockdown did not seem to adversely affect parental functioning, beyond increased parenting stress. Caution should be taken when generalizing the findings as child effects and long-term lockdown effects were not investigated.

Mental health problems in adolescence, first births, and union formation: Evidence from the Young HUNT Study.

While a large literature documents how mental health problems in adolescence have long-term consequences for adult socioeconomic outcomes, less is known about the relation with family-formation behavior. In this paper, we use data from a population based Norwegian health survey (the Young-HUNT study) linked to administrative registry data (N = 8,113) to examine the long-term consequences of symptoms of internalizing and externalizing problems, the two most common forms of mental health problems, on family-formation outcomes: the likelihood of a first birth, the union status of a first birth, and entering first marriage. For men, externalizing problems are associated with earlier parenthood, especially becoming a father without having a coresidential relationship with the child's mother. Internalizing problems, on the other hand, are associated with lower first-birth rates and the association grows progressively stronger with age. We also find that the associations are more pronounced among men with low childhood socioeconomic status. In contrast, women's family-formation appears for the most part unrelated to their mental health.

The influence of offspring's sex and age at parents' divorce on the intergenerational transmission of divorce, Norwegian first marriages 1980-2003.

Whether a couple remain married or divorce has repeatedly been shown to be of importance for the marital stability of their children. This paper addresses the related question of whether the intergenerational transmission of divorce is contingent on the age at which parents divorced and the sex of the spouse who experienced the parents' divorce. Using a population-wide data-set on Norwegian first marriages followed from 1980 to 2003, we find that the intergenerational transmission hypothesis holds also for Norway, that this relationship is stronger for women than for men, and that there is a negative age gradient in the transmission effect for women. The experience of multiple family transitions, such as a parent's remarriage or a second divorce, does not affect couples' divorce risk.

In sickness and in health: The role of marital partners in cancer survival.

Married cancer patients enjoy a survival advantage, potentially attributable to better health at diagnosis, earlier contact with health personnel, and/or access to resources to ensure more optimal treatment. These mechanisms only invoke the mere presence of a partner, but partners bring varying amounts of resources into the household. It is likely that also spousal resources contribute to differentials in survival net of own resources, as gradients in survival by the latter are well documented. Our aim is to examine the combined roles of own and spouses' socioeconomic characteristics (SES) and age for cancer survival. Almost 268,000 married patients diagnosed with a first cancer after age 50 during 1975-2007 were identified from the Norwegian Cancer Registry and other national registers. In a sequence of hazard models, differences in survival by patients' own education, income and age and the role of spouses' characteristics were assessed. Furthermore, we also assessed the importance of homogamy/heterogamy along the same dimensions. Partners' characteristics clearly matter for survival. The relative survival of patients with highly educated partners, net of their own education, is significantly higher than that of patients with lesser-educated partners. Somewhat similar effects are observed for income, net of education. A less consistent pattern is observed for age, although non-normative heterogamy patterns in age and income appear to be associated with a survival disadvantage. The naïve perspective of only considering the presence of partners may thus conceal important differences in cancer survival. Health personnel may take advantage of such knowledge in interactions with patients and their families, and gather information on resources in immediate networks that may impact prognosis favorable and/or unfavorable and help patients utilize these resources to improve prognosis.

Adolescent mental health and earnings inequalities in adulthood: evidence from the Young-HUNT Study.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that adolescent mental health problems are associated with lower employment probabilities and risk of unemployment. The evidence on how earnings are affected is much weaker, and few have addressed whether any association reflects unobserved characteristics and whether the consequences of mental health problems vary across the earnings distribution. METHODS: A population-based Norwegian health survey linked to administrative registry data (N=7885) was used to estimate how adolescents' mental health problems (separate indicators of internalising, conduct, and attention problems and total sum scores) affect earnings (≥30 years) in young adulthood. We used linear regression with fixed-effects models comparing either students within schools or siblings within families. Unconditional quantile regressions were used to explore differentials across the earnings distribution. RESULTS: Mental health problems in adolescence reduce average earnings in adulthood, and associations are robust to control for observed family background and school fixed effects. For some, but not all mental health problems, associations are also robust in sibling fixed-effects models, where all stable family factors are controlled. Further, we found much larger earnings loss below the 25th centile. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent mental health problems reduce adult earnings, especially among individuals in the lower tail of the earnings distribution. Preventing mental health problems in adolescence may increase future earnings.

Does Community Context Have an Important Impact on Divorce Risk? A Fixed-Effects Study of Twenty Norwegian First-Marriage Cohorts.

The decision to divorce may be affected by the characteristics of the local community. Community characteristics may be barriers to divorce, or they may increase the attractiveness of divorcing (e.g., access to a good remarriage market), but our knowledge of such influences is sparse. This study examines two such community-level factors: socio-economic conditions and the local marriage market. In this study, discrete-time hazard models with community-level fixed effects are estimated using register-based data on Norwegian first marriages during the period from 1980 to 1999, with longitudinal information on both the community and couple levels (N = 283,493). The results show that there are important community-level influences on couples' divorce risk, but these change dramatically when fixed effects are introduced.

Do siblings' fertility decisions influence each other?

Individuals' fertility decisions are shaped not only by their own characteristics and life course paths but also by social interaction with others. However, in practice, it is difficult to disentangle the role of social interaction from other factors, such as individual and family background variables. We measure social interaction through the cross-sibling influences on fertility. Continuous-time hazard models are estimated separately for women's first and second births. In addition to individual socioeconomic variables, demographic variables, and an unobserved factor specific to each sibling pair, siblings' birth events and their timing enter as time-varying covariates. We use data from longitudinal population-wide Norwegian administrative registers. The data cover more than 110,000 sibling pairs and include the siblings' fertility, education, income, and marital histories. Our results indicate that cross-sibling influences are relatively strong for the respondents' first births but weak for the second parity transition.