In a recent study published in the journal NPJ Mental Health Researchresearchers are investigating the causal relationship between educational attainment, intelligence, and happiness.
study: Exploring the causal relationships between educational attainment, intelligence, and well-being: An observational and two-sample Mendelian randomization study. Image credit: Gorodenkoff / Shutterstock.com
long-term effects of education
Education is essential for acquiring knowledge, work skills, and socialization skills, which collectively help young people prepare for adulthood. Educational attainment is therefore an important determinant of occupational status, economic security, marital status, and subsequent health.
Existing literature supports a causal relationship between educational attainment and smoking habits, sedentary behavior, body mass index (BMI), suicide risk, insomnia, and major depressive disorder. However, a causal relationship between educational attainment and happiness has not been established.
Educational attainment is highly correlated with many aspects of intelligence, including memory and learning, processing speed, and abstract, verbal, and spatial reasoning. Comparatively, observational studies report a negative association between intelligence and happiness after controlling for other factors such as income and parental education.
About research
In the current study, scientists use a two-sample Mendelian randomization approach to investigate the causal and independent associations between educational attainment and intelligence and happiness.
Mendelian randomization methods utilize summary-level genetic data to determine potential causal relationships. In two-sample Mendelian randomization studies, associations between genetic instrumental variables (also called predictor variables) and exposures and outcomes are determined from different, non-overlapping samples. Additionally, summary-level data are used to derive Mendelian randomization estimates.
Genetic findings were supplemented using longitudinal observational data to further explore the relationship between educational attainment and well-being, revealing possible gender differences, nonlinear trends, and the moderating effect of intelligence.
important findings
Univariate Mendelian randomization results revealed a strong causal and bidirectional association between educational attainment and intelligence. The magnitude of this effect was twice as high for her educational attainment on intelligence.
In the Mendelian randomization analysis, we observed a small positive causal effect of educational attainment on happiness. A causal relationship between happiness and educational attainment was also observed.
The current study used modern genetic measures of well-being to determine causality. This instrument taps four well-being traits, including life satisfaction, positive affect, neuroticism, and depressive symptoms, which are collectively referred to as the well-being spectrum.
The current study found that every 3.6 years of schooling increases happiness by 0.057. Mendelian randomization analysis also revealed a causal effect of happiness on intelligence. However, no causal effect of intelligence on happiness was observed. The size of this effect was similar to that observed for educational attainment.
Independent causal effects of both educational attainment and intelligence on happiness were observed. More specifically, educational attainment was associated with positive effects, whereas intelligence was associated with negative effects.
After controlling for intelligence, a positive causal effect of genetic predisposition to higher education on happiness was observed. In comparison, a negative effect of intelligence on well-being was observed after controlling for educational attainment.
After controlling for intelligence, further analysis revealed an independent association between happiness and educational attainment. A similar independent association between intelligence and educational attainment was observed after controlling for happiness.
Longitudinal observation findings
Observational data were collected from the Avon Parent-Child Longitudinal Study, a prospective cohort study conducted in the United Kingdom. No significant differences in happiness scores were observed between participants with and without a college degree. However, significantly higher life satisfaction scores were observed among participants with a university degree.
These observations indicate that higher education, defined as having at least a college degree, does not predict subjective well-being, but may predict increased life satisfaction. .
Women with a college degree were found to have significantly higher life satisfaction than women without a college degree, but this effect was not significant for men with or without a college degree. In contrast, college-educated women had higher subjective well-being, while college-educated men had lower subjective well-being.
Induction of intelligence was correlated with decreased subjective well-being and increased life satisfaction. Comparisons across genders revealed that men with lower intelligence scores had higher subjective well-being.
Significance of the research
Current research combines genetic and observational data to uncover causal relationships between educational attainment, intelligence, and happiness. To this end, a bidirectional causal relationship between educational attainment and happiness was observed, with happiness having a greater effect on educational attainment.
The negative effect of intelligence on well-being suggests that students with higher intelligence are at greater risk of experiencing academic stress and require additional well-being supports to alleviate these pressures.
Reference magazines:
- JM Armitage, RE Wootton, OSP Davis, CMA Howarth (2024). Exploring the causal relationships between educational attainment, intelligence, and well-being: An observational and two-sample Mendelian randomization study. NPJ Mental Health Research. doi:10.1038/s44184-024-00066-x