Back to search

VAM-Velferd, arbeid og migrasjon

Reproduction of socioeconomic differences and mental health across generations (REMENTA)

Alternative title: Reproduksjon av sosiale forskjeller og psykisk helse over generasjoner (REMENTA)

Awarded: NOK 12.0 mill.

Project Number:

300668

Application Type:

Project Period:

2020 - 2024

Funding received from:

Subject Fields:

Children of parents with low socioeconomic status do less well in school and are at risk of drop-out, low education, unemployment, and social exclusion. It is not adequately understood why social differences reproduce. There is a close relationship between socioeconomic status and mental health that signals that mental health could be a key to understand reproduction of social differences and mobility. The overarching aim in this project is to understand the role of mental health in the reproduction of socioeconomic differences. Family members resemble each other with regard to both socioeconomic status and mental health. The intergenerational associations can be due to genetic or environmental factors shared by parents and children, or direct influences between parents and offspring. In this project, we therefore plan to investigate how the relationship between socioeconomic status and mental health unfolds in a new generation, and how children's school performance are shaped by their parental background and by their own, unique mental development. We study school performance among children and adolescents because it is an important and early observable determinant of later socioeconomic status. The fact that partners often have similar educational levels influences the distribution of risk factors among children. We will therefore investigate whether and how partner choices have consequences for social differences in mental health. We utilize survey and genetic data from The Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study and register data on health, demography and school performance. We also use administrative register data from the entire population of Norway. Using several research methods allow us to draw firmer conclusions if the results point in the same direction. We have so far published several papers in the REMENTA project. In one publication (published in International Journal of Epidemiology), we have documented the association between parental income and their children's mental health. The study concluded that mental disorders are 3 to 4 times more common among children whose parents are in the lowest earning percentile compared to the highest earning percentile. The association was found across the entire income gradient. These differences could not be explained by other factors such as parental education or parental mental health. The same pattern was found in adoptive children, meaning genetic factors could not completely explain the association either. We have also documented that children of parents with mental disorders have reduced school performance. In a paper (npj Science of Learning), we show that when accounting for factors that are constant within a family, parents' mental illnesses have a small, but statistically significant effect on final grades in lower secondary school. Furthermore, we have investigated in an article (published in The Lancet Public Health) how children's health is linked to school performance. We looked at all possible diagnosis codes in the primary health care service and later grades in secondary school. We found that among all possible health conditions, mental health constituted by far the largest contribution to health inequalities in school performance, followed by non-specific and endocrine conditions. Among specific diagnoses, ADHD made the largest contribution to reduced education in the population. In another paper (JCPP Advances), we focused specifically on ADHD, to see how this diagnosis was related to school performance. We found that ADHD was more strongly associated with school performance in girls than in boys and in children of parents with high versus low education. Although these groups have a lower risk of ADHD, it seems to impose a larger burden when they are affected. In addition, we found that ADHD was associated with lower performance across all school subjects. Another topic in the project is how assortative mating can lead to social inequality. Previous studies on assortative mating have focued on partners themselves. However, assortative mating has consequences for the next generation. Between siblings, researchers expect a genetic similarity of 50 percent. But since children partly inherit the same genes from both mother and father, we found that the similarity of genes linked to education was a whopping 68 percent. In other words, there is greater similarity within families than expected, and greater differences between families. We even found substantial genetic similarity between siblings-in-law. This is published in Nature Communications. Several of our research papers articles are currently under review in scientific journals. These are already available as preprints and will be discussed here when they are accepted. We also participate in the public debate on social inequality. Web: https://www.fhi.no/en/cristin-projects/ongoing/reproduction-of-socioeconomic-differences-and-mental-health-across-generati/

Children of parents with low socioeconomic status (SES) do less well in school and are at risk of drop-out, low education, unemployment, and social exclusion. Low SES is strongly related to mental disorders, and both low SES and mental disorders run in families. The close relationship between SES and mental health signals that mental health could be a key to understand reproduction of social differences and mobility. We study school performance, an early indicator of later SES, as it develops during childhood and adolescence in relation to mental health. The intergenerational associations can be due to genetic or environmental factors shared by parents and children, or direct effects between parents and offspring. We will estimate effects of different parental indicators of SES and mental health on child mental health and school performance, and then examine mediators of the intergenerational transmission. Since partners are more similar than random strangers, children may experience risk factors in 'double doses'. We will therefore assess the consequences of assortative mating on social differences. We utilize survey and genomic data from The Norwegian Mother and Child Study that includes ~268 000 individuals in mother-father-child-trios and register data on health, demography and school performance. In addition, we will use register data on the entire population of Norway. Triangulation of quantitative (e.g. extended children-of-twins-and-sibling models) and molecular genetic methods (e.g. intergenerational Mendelian randomization) allow us to draw firm conclusions. Multivariate polygenic and quantitative genetic methods are suited to study how the genetic risk unfolds, and can identify mediators of the genetic effects that are amenable to interventions. This is a new approach to social inequalities. Knowledge on the origins of social inequality and causes of mental disorders will be important to mental health and social sciences, and may impact social policies.

Publications from Cristin

No publications found

No publications found

Funding scheme:

VAM-Velferd, arbeid og migrasjon