Genetic Architecture of Educational Attainment is Represented by Executive Function in Children

Abstract The genetics of educational attainment is well characterized in adults, but little is known about how it operates during childhood, when cognitive development underlying academic achievement is developing. In this study, we investigated the associations of the genetic architecture of educational attainment with childhood cognitive function. We used summary statistics from a published genome-wide association study for educational attainment and its cognitive and non-cognitive components to create polygenic scores (PGS EA, PGS Cog, PGS nonCog ) in a multi-ethnic, longitudinal, and prospective birth cohort in Singapore. Validation with the adults in our sample revealed that the PRSs were significantly associated with university completion rates, explaining up to 6.3% of the variance ( n = 1,688). Additionally, PGS EA was notably lower in children who required additional learning support at age 7 ( n = 887). Children’s PGS Cog and PGS nonCog were significantly associated with cognitive and emotional regulation of executive function respectively ( n = 110). Genes derived from PGS Cog were largely brain-specific and related to cognition and psychiatric disorders. In contrast, genes from PGS nonCog were less represented in the brain and linked to risk-taking and broader health outcomes. Our findings suggest that the genetics of educational attainment associate with childhood cognitive-emotional phenotypes that strongly influence academic performance, mirroring previous findings in adults.