Association of maternal and parental IQ with offspring conduct, emotional, and attention problem scores: Transgenerational evidence from the 1958 British birth cohort study

Whitley, Elise, Gale, Catharine R., Deary, Ian J., Kivimaki, Mika and Batty, G. David (2011) Association of maternal and parental IQ with offspring conduct, emotional, and attention problem scores: Transgenerational evidence from the 1958 British birth cohort study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 68 (10), 1032-1038. (doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.111). (PMID:21969461)

Abstract

Context: Individuals with lower IQ scores have an increased
risk of psychological disorders, mental health problems,
and suicide; similarly, children with low IQ scores
are more likely to have behavioral, emotional, and anxiety
disorders. However, little is known about the effect of parental
IQ on the mental health outcomes of their children.
Objective: To determine whether maternal and paternal
IQ scores are associated with offspring conduct, emotional,
and attention scores.
Design: Cohort study.
Setting: General population.
Participants: Members of the 1958 National Child Development
Study and their offspring were studied. Of 2984
parent-offspring pairs with nonadopted children 4 years
or older, 2202 pairs had complete data regarding all variables
of interest and were included in the analyses.
Main Outcome Measures: Offspring conduct, emotional,
and attention scores based on the Behavioral Problems
Index for children aged 4 to 6 years or the Rutter A
scale for children and adolescents 7 years and older.
Results: Little evidence was observed of any association
of parental IQ with conduct or emotional problems
in children aged 4 to 6 years. However, among children
and adolescents 7 years or older, strong evidence was observed
from age- and sex-adjusted models to support a
decrease in conduct, emotional, and attention problems
in those whose parents had higher IQ scores. These associations
were linear across the full IQ range. Individual
adjustments for socioeconomic status and the
child’s own IQ had limited effect. However, adjustments
for Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment
scores and parental malaise attenuated associations
with the mother’s IQ but had little effect on
associations with the father’s IQ (scores were available
for only 1 parent for each child or adolescent). Strong
associations were no longer evident in models that simultaneously
adjusted for all 4 potential mediating variables.
Conclusions: Children whose parents score poorly on
IQ tests may have an increased risk of conduct, emotional,
and attention problems. The home environment,
parental malaise, and the child’s own IQ may have a role
in explaining these associations.

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Contributors

Author: Catharine R. Gale

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