Child development is influenced by both genetic inheritance and environmental influences. The direct influence of genes from the parents to their offspring may tell about many heritable genes, but recent research has shown a more nuanced understanding of how parental genes can also shape a child’s development indirectly. This concept is called the ‘genetic nurture’, which is the Parents’ non-inherited genes that indirectly influence children’s education and mental health through the environment they provide.
For instance, a parent’s parenting style may be influenced by their genetic propensity for education or emotional stability, which can then have an impact on the child’s cognitive, social, and emotional development. A more comprehensive understanding of human development and the creation of more successful parenting and educational interventions depend on an understanding of these indirect genetic impacts.
Read More: The Role of Genetics in Mental Health
Kong A et. al (2018) conducted a study which showed that nontransmitted alleles can affect a child through their impacts on the parents and other relatives. The results showed that the alleles that were not passed, still explained about 30% of the effect when compared with the genes that were passed on. Aditionally, the effects of these indirect genes were also being showed in other areas like health and nutrition.
Wang et al. made the following tentative conclusions after reviewing many studies on the impacts of genetic nurture: Direct genetic inheritance accounts for 16% of the educational similarities between parents and their offspring, while “genetic nurture” accounts for 8%. One should anticipate more genetic nurture effects from mothers as they typically spend more time with their children than fathers.
Nonetheless, the impacts appear to be about the same for fathers and mothers. Furthermore, a child’s educational accomplishment (how well they perform at any level of school) appears to be less influenced by genetic nurture effects than their educational attainment (the greatest level of education they reach). And Genes linked to low socioeconomic status also account for about 75% of the genetic nurture effects.
Read More: New Study Uses Genetics to Predict School Achievement
Through the environment they create, parents’ genes have an impact on their child’s education, even if they are not inherited. Although they are less significant than the direct genetic effects, these genetic nurture effects are nonetheless present (0.08 vs. 0.17 on average). A parent’s success in life, which is partially determined by their genes, influences the success of their children, even if the children do not inherit the parents’ genes.
Dr. Hong, a professor at Oxford University and his colleagues found that parental genes that were not passed on to their children continued to influence how long youngsters spent in school. These non-inherited genes shaped the educational outcomes of the child by influencing the environment the parents created, such as how nurturing or future-focused they were. The combined effect of the unpassed genes was nearly 30% greater than that of the inherited genes, even though each unpassed gene had a relatively minor influence. According to the genetic nurture theory, parents’ DNA affects their children through heredity and the environment they provide.
This study underscores the significance of early intervention and ongoing support throughout childhood, supporting the UK Government’s calls for life-course approaches to mental health and development.
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