IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v16y2025i1d10.1038_s41467-025-57694-w.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Intergenerational transmission of polygenic predisposition for neuropsychiatric traits on emotional and behavioural difficulties in childhood

Author

Listed:
  • A. G. Allegrini

    (University College London
    King’s College London)

  • L. J. Hannigan

    (Lovisenberg Diaconal Hospital
    Norwegian Institute of Public Health
    University of Bristol)

  • L. Frach

    (University College London
    School of Medicine & University Hospital Bonn)

  • W. Barkhuizen

    (University College London)

  • J. R. Baldwin

    (University College London
    King’s College London)

  • O. A. Andreassen

    (Oslo University Hospital)

  • D. Bragantini

    (Lovisenberg Diaconal Hospital
    Norwegian Institute of Public Health)

  • L. Hegemann

    (Lovisenberg Diaconal Hospital
    Norwegian Institute of Public Health
    University of Oslo)

  • A. Havdahl

    (Lovisenberg Diaconal Hospital
    Norwegian Institute of Public Health
    University of Oslo)

  • J-B. Pingault

    (University College London
    King’s College London)

Abstract

Childhood emotional and behavioural difficulties tend to co-occur and often precede diagnosed neuropsychiatric conditions. Identifying shared and specific risk factors for early-life mental health difficulties is therefore essential for prevention strategies. Here, we examine how parental risk factors shape their offspring’s emotional and behavioural symptoms (e.g. feelings of anxiety, and restlessness) using data from 14,959 genotyped family trios from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). We model maternal reports of emotional and behavioural symptoms, organizing them into general and specific domains. We then investigate the direct (genetically transmitted) and indirect (environmentally mediated) contributions of parental polygenic risk for neuropsychiatric-related traits and whether these are shared across symptoms. We observe evidence consistent with an environmental route to general symptomatology beyond genetic transmission, while also demonstrating domain-specific direct and indirect genetic contributions. These findings improve our understanding of early risk pathways that can be targeted in preventive interventions aiming to interrupt the intergenerational cycle of risk transmission.

Suggested Citation

  • A. G. Allegrini & L. J. Hannigan & L. Frach & W. Barkhuizen & J. R. Baldwin & O. A. Andreassen & D. Bragantini & L. Hegemann & A. Havdahl & J-B. Pingault, 2025. "Intergenerational transmission of polygenic predisposition for neuropsychiatric traits on emotional and behavioural difficulties in childhood," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-13, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-57694-w
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57694-w
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-57694-w
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-025-57694-w?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Qin Qin Huang & Emilie M. Wigdor & Daniel S. Malawsky & Patrick Campbell & Kaitlin E. Samocha & V. Kartik Chundru & Petr Danecek & Sarah Lindsay & Thomas Marchant & Mahmoud Koko & Sana Amanat & Davide, 2024. "Examining the role of common variants in rare neurodevelopmental conditions," Nature, Nature, vol. 636(8042), pages 404-411, December.
    2. Perline A. Demange & Jouke Jan Hottenga & Abdel Abdellaoui & Espen Moen Eilertsen & Margherita Malanchini & Benjamin W. Domingue & Emma Armstrong-Carter & Eveline L. Zeeuw & Kaili Rimfeld & Dorret I. , 2022. "Estimating effects of parents’ cognitive and non-cognitive skills on offspring education using polygenic scores," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-14, December.
    3. Javier de la Fuente & Gail Davies & Andrew D. Grotzinger & Elliot M. Tucker-Drob & Ian J. Deary, 2021. "A general dimension of genetic sharing across diverse cognitive traits inferred from molecular data," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 5(1), pages 49-58, January.
    4. Rosseel, Yves, 2012. "lavaan: An R Package for Structural Equation Modeling," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 48(i02).
    5. Mats Nagel & Kyoko Watanabe & Sven Stringer & Danielle Posthuma & Sophie Sluis, 2018. "Item-level analyses reveal genetic heterogeneity in neuroticism," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-10, December.
    6. Vassily Trubetskoy & Antonio F. Pardiñas & Ting Qi & Georgia Panagiotaropoulou & Swapnil Awasthi & Tim B. Bigdeli & Julien Bryois & Chia-Yen Chen & Charlotte A. Dennison & Lynsey S. Hall & Max Lam & K, 2022. "Mapping genomic loci implicates genes and synaptic biology in schizophrenia," Nature, Nature, vol. 604(7906), pages 502-508, April.
    7. Michel G. Nivard & Daniel W. Belsky & K. Paige Harden & Tina Baier & Ole A. Andreassen & Eivind Ystrøm & Elsje Bergen & Torkild H. Lyngstad, 2024. "More than nature and nurture, indirect genetic effects on children’s academic achievement are consequences of dynastic social processes," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 8(4), pages 771-778, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Andrew D. Grotzinger & Travis T. Mallard & Zhaowen Liu & Jakob Seidlitz & Tian Ge & Jordan W. Smoller, 2023. "Multivariate genomic architecture of cortical thickness and surface area at multiple levels of analysis," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Andrew D. Grotzinger & Javier de la Fuente & Gail Davies & Michel G. Nivard & Elliot M. Tucker-Drob, 2022. "Transcriptome-wide and stratified genomic structural equation modeling identify neurobiological pathways shared across diverse cognitive traits," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-15, December.
    3. Margherita Malanchini & Andrea G. Allegrini & Michel G. Nivard & Pietro Biroli & Kaili Rimfeld & Rosa Cheesman & Sophie Stumm & Perline A. Demange & Elsje Bergen & Andrew D. Grotzinger & Laurel Raffin, 2024. "Genetic associations between non-cognitive skills and academic achievement over development," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 8(10), pages 2034-2046, October.
    4. Caitlin E. Carey & Rebecca Shafee & Robbee Wedow & Amanda Elliott & Duncan S. Palmer & John Compitello & Masahiro Kanai & Liam Abbott & Patrick Schultz & Konrad J. Karczewski & Samuel C. Bryant & Caro, 2024. "Principled distillation of UK Biobank phenotype data reveals underlying structure in human variation," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 8(8), pages 1599-1615, August.
    5. Gianmarco Mignogna & Caitlin E. Carey & Robbee Wedow & Nikolas Baya & Mattia Cordioli & Nicola Pirastu & Rino Bellocco & Kathryn Fiuza Malerbi & Michel G. Nivard & Benjamin M. Neale & Raymond K. Walte, 2023. "Patterns of item nonresponse behaviour to survey questionnaires are systematic and associated with genetic loci," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 7(8), pages 1371-1387, August.
    6. Evelina T. Akimova & Tobias Wolfram & Xuejie Ding & Felix C. Tropf & Melinda C. Mills, 2025. "Polygenic prediction of occupational status GWAS elucidates genetic and environmental interplay in intergenerational transmission, careers and health in UK Biobank," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 9(2), pages 391-405, February.
    7. Sommer, Markus & Arendasy, Martin E. & Punter, Joachim Fritz & Feldhammer-Kahr, Martina & Rieder, Anita, 2025. "Does test preparation mediate the effect of parents' level of educational attainment on medical school admission test performance?," Intelligence, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    8. Akimova, Evelina T. & Wolfram, Tobias & Ding, Xuejie & Tropf, Felix C. & Mills, Melinda C., 2024. "Polygenic prediction of occupational status GWAS elucidates genetic and environmental interplay in intergenerational transmission, careers and health in UK Biobank," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 9(2), pages 391-405.
    9. Pengfei Dong & Liting Song & Jaroslav Bendl & Ruth Misir & Zhiping Shao & Jonathan Edelstien & David A. Davis & Vahram Haroutunian & William K. Scott & Susanne Acker & Nathan Lawless & Gabriel E. Hoff, 2024. "A multi-regional human brain atlas of chromatin accessibility and gene expression facilitates promoter-isoform resolution genetic fine-mapping," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-18, December.
    10. Md. Mominur Rahman & Bilkis Akhter, 2021. "The impact of investment in human capital on bank performance: evidence from Bangladesh," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 1-13, December.
    11. César Merino-Soto & Gina Chávez-Ventura & Verónica López-Fernández & Guillermo M. Chans & Filiberto Toledano-Toledano, 2022. "Learning Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ-L): Psychometric and Measurement Invariance Evidence in Peruvian Undergraduate Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-17, September.
    12. Nathaniel Oliver Iotti & Damiano Menin & Tomas Jungert, 2022. "Early Adolescents’ Motivations to Defend Victims of Cyberbullying," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-9, July.
    13. Christoph Dworschak, 2024. "Bias mitigation in empirical peace and conflict studies: A short primer on posttreatment variables," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 61(3), pages 462-476, May.
    14. Andreea-Ionela Puiu & Anca Monica Ardeleanu & Camelia Cojocaru & Anca Bratu, 2021. "Exploring the Effect of Status Quo, Innovativeness, and Involvement Tendencies on Luxury Fashion Innovations: The Mediation Role of Status Consumption," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-18, May.
    15. Slupphaug, KJell & Mehmetoglu, Mehmet & Mittner, Matthias, 2024. "modsem: An R package for estimating latent interactions and quadratic effects," OSF Preprints h3rpw, Center for Open Science.
    16. Emily Olfson & Luis C. Farhat & Wenzhong Liu & Lawrence A. Vitulano & Gwyneth Zai & Monicke O. Lima & Justin Parent & Guilherme V. Polanczyk & Carolina Cappi & James L. Kennedy & Thomas V. Fernandez, 2024. "Rare de novo damaging DNA variants are enriched in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and implicate risk genes," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-10, December.
    17. Allen, Jaime & Muñoz, Juan Carlos & Ortúzar, Juan de Dios, 2019. "On evasion behaviour in public transport: Dissatisfaction or contagion?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 626-651.
    18. Merkle, Edgar C. & Steyvers, Mark & Mellers, Barbara & Tetlock, Philip E., 2017. "A neglected dimension of good forecasting judgment: The questions we choose also matter," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 817-832.
    19. Sai-fu Fung & Esther Oi-wah Chow & Chau-kiu Cheung, 2020. "Development and Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of a Brief Wisdom Development Scale," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-14, April.
    20. repec:plo:pone00:0205222 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Goran Calic & Moren Lévesque & Anton Shevchenko, 2024. "On why women-owned businesses take more time to secure microloans," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 63(3), pages 917-938, October.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-57694-w. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.