Polygenic Associations With Educational Attainment in East Versus West Germany: Differences Emerge After Reunification.

IF 4.8 1区心理学 Q1 PSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Psychological Science Pub Date : 2025-07-09 DOI:10.1177/09567976251350965

Deniz Fraemke, Yayouk E Willems, Aysu Okbay, Ulman Lindenberger, Sabine Zinn, Gert Wagner, David Richter, Kathryn P Harden, Elliot M Tucker-Drob, Ralph Hertwig, Philipp Koellinger, Laurel Raffington

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Abstract

Using a DNA-based polygenic index, we explored geographical and historical differences in polygenic associations with educational attainment in East and West Germany around the time of reunification. This index was derived from a prior genome-wide association study on educational attainment in democratic countries. In 1,930 individuals aged 25 to 85 years from the SOEP-G[ene] cohort, the magnitude of polygenic associations with educational attainment did not differ between East and West Germany before reunification but increased in East Germany thereafter. This gene-environment interaction remained robust when we probed for variance dispersion. A control analysis using a polygenic index of height suggests that this interaction is unlikely to reflect a general trend toward greater genetic associations in East Germany after reunification. The observed amplification of education-genetic associations aligns with theories suggesting heightened genetic influences on educational attainment during periods of greater social and educational opportunity. We emphasize the need for replication in larger German genetic data sets.

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多基因与东德和西德教育程度的关联：统一后的差异。

使用基于dna的多基因指数，我们探索了统一前后东德和西德多基因与教育程度关联的地理和历史差异。该指数来源于一项关于民主国家受教育程度的全基因组关联研究。在SOEP-G[ene]队列中，1930名年龄在25岁至85岁之间的个体中，多基因与教育程度的关联程度在东德和西德统一前没有差异，但在统一后东德有所增加。当我们探索方差分散时，这种基因-环境相互作用仍然很强大。使用身高多基因指数的对照分析表明，这种相互作用不太可能反映统一后东德遗传关联增强的总体趋势。观察到的教育-遗传关联的放大与理论一致，理论认为，在社会和教育机会较大的时期，遗传对受教育程度的影响较大。我们强调需要在更大的德国遗传数据集中进行复制。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Psychological Science PSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY-

CiteScore

13.30

自引率

0.00%

发文量

156

期刊介绍： Psychological Science, the flagship journal of The Association for Psychological Science (previously the American Psychological Society), is a leading publication in the field with a citation ranking/impact factor among the top ten worldwide. It publishes authoritative articles covering various domains of psychological science, including brain and behavior, clinical science, cognition, learning and memory, social psychology, and developmental psychology. In addition to full-length articles, the journal features summaries of new research developments and discussions on psychological issues in government and public affairs. "Psychological Science" is published twelve times annually.