Table 7.
Association Between Mother’s and Father’s Educational Attainment and Adult Offspring Personality Trait Development
| Mother Education | Father Education | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|||||
| β | 95% CI | p | β | 95% CI | P | |
| Neuroticism | ||||||
| MIDUS | −.03 | −.06, −.01 | .015 | −.04 | −.06, −.01 | .010 |
| WLS-G | −.02 | −.04, .00 | .067 | −.04 | −.06, −.02 | <.001 |
| WLS-S | −.02 | −.05, .01 | .205 | −.03 | −.06, −.00 | .035 |
| HRS | −.04 | −.06, −.02 | <.001 | −.05 | −.06, −.03 | <.001 |
| Meta-analysis | −.04 | −.05, −.02 | <.001 | −.05 | −.06, −.03 | <.001 |
| Heterogeneity | ||||||
| Q | 3.06 | -- | .383 | .92 | -- | .820 |
| I2 | 1.79 | -- | -- | .00 | -- | -- |
| Total N | 20,442 | 19,625 | ||||
| Extraversion | ||||||
| MIDUS | .00 | −.02, .03 | .745 | .00 | −.03, .02 | .800 |
| WLS-G | .02 | −.00, .04 | .069 | .04 | .02, .06 | .000 |
| WLS-S | .00 | −.02, .03 | .712 | .01 | −.01, .04 | .269 |
| HRS | .02 | .00, .04 | .012 | .04 | .02, .06 | <.001 |
| Meta-analysis | .02 | .01, .03 | .004 | .03 | .01, .06 | .014 |
| Heterogeneity | ||||||
| Q | 1.81 | -- | .613 | 9.29 | -- | .026 |
| I2 | .00 | -- | -- | 67.71 | -- | -- |
| Total N | 20,563 | 19,746 | ||||
| Openness | ||||||
| MIDUS | .02 | .00, .05 | .043 | .02 | −.00, .05 | .074 |
| WLS-G | .06 | .04, .08 | <.001 | .08 | .06, .10 | <.001 |
| WLS-S | .06 | .04, .09 | <.001 | .07 | .04, .10 | <.001 |
| HRS | .05 | .04, .07 | <.001 | .06 | .05, .08 | <.001 |
| Meta-analysis | .07 | .05, .09 | <.001 | .08 | .05, .11 | <.001 |
| Heterogeneity | ||||||
| Q | 6.34 | -- | .096 | 13.18 | -- | .004 |
| I2 | 52.70 | -- | -- | 77.24 | -- | -- |
| Total N | 20,492 | 19,681 | ||||
| Agreeableness | ||||||
| MIDUS | −.03 | −.05, −.00 | .043 | −.04 | −.07, −.01 | .003 |
| WLS-G | −.02 | −.04, .00 | .104 | .00 | −.02, .02 | .927 |
| WLS-S | −.03 | −.06, .00 | .054 | −.02 | −.05, .01 | .174 |
| HRS | .02 | .00, .04 | .029 | .02 | .01, .04 | .007 |
| Meta-analysis | −.02 | −.05, .02 | .337 | −.01 | −.04, .02 | .632 |
| Heterogeneity | ||||||
| Q | 14.27 | -- | .003 | 18.24 | -- | <.001 |
| I2 | 78.97 | -- | -- | 83.55 | -- | -- |
| Total N | 20,500 | 19,686 | ||||
| Conscientiousness | ||||||
| MIDUS | .00 | −.02, .03 | .734 | −.01 | −.04, .01 | .327 |
| WLS-G | −.02 | −.04, .00 | .125 | .00 | −.02, .02 | .961 |
| WLS-S | .00 | −.03, .03 | .855 | .01 | −.02, .04 | .682 |
| HRS | .04 | .02, .06 | <.001 | .05 | .04, .07 | <.001 |
| Meta-analysis | .01 | −.03, .04 | .633 | .02 | −.03, .06 | .452 |
| Heterogeneity | ||||||
| Q | 18.32 | -- | <.001 | 25.97 | -- | <.001 |
| I2 | 83.62 | -- | -- | 88.45 | -- | -- |
| Total N | 20,557 | 19,744 | ||||
Note. Coefficients are standardized beta coefficients controlling for age, sex, race, and baseline personality. CI=confidence interval. MIDUS = Midlife in the United States. WLS-G = Wisconsin Longitudinal Study – Graduate Sample. WLS-S = Wisconsin Longitudinal Study – Sibling Sample. HRS = Health and Retirement Study.