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Polygenic indexes (PGIs) are DNA-based predictors. Their value for research in many scientific disciplines is growing rapidly. As a resource for researchers, we used a consistent methodology to construct PGIs for 47 phenotypes in 11 datasets. To maximize the PGIs' prediction accuracies, we constructed them using genome-wide association studies-some not previously published-from multiple data sources, including 23andMe and UK Biobank. We present a theoretical framework to help interpret analyses involving PGIs. A key insight is that a PGI can be understood as an unbiased but noisy measure of a latent variable we call the 'additive SNP factor'. Regressions in which the true regressor is this factor but the PGI is used as its proxy therefore suffer from errors-in-variables bias. We derive an estimator that corrects for the bias, illustrate the correction, and make a Python tool for implementing it publicly available.

Kaupapa Maori early years provision (KM-EYP) is recognised as a cornerstone of community efforts to revitalise Maori language and culture. Surprisingly, little is known about how KM-EYP influences the lives of whanau who have engaged. Parents/grandparents (N=91) of tamariki who had attended a Taranaki-based centre (between 1994 and 2017) completed a survey designed to measure 20 aspects of whanau lives, which collectively align with an ao Maori view of wellbeing. Most participants agreed that their children's learning, Maori identity and cultural capacity had been strengthened, as had their own capabilities. Comparisons between the year after exiting the Centre and the time of the survey (2019/2020) demonstrated sustained or increasing benefits, with the exception of relationships with other Centre whanau and the reo Maori capacity of tamariki. Our findings contribute to what is known about how whanau can benefit from engagement in KM-EYP. Keywords: Indigenous psychology, Kaupapa Maori early years provision, Wellbeing, Survey, Education, Whanau, INTRODUCTION E tatari atu ana kia aroaro mahana, ka taka mai te ahuru, koia. The warmth of spring is eagerly awaited, a joyful time of new growth and industry. This [...]

Twin studies have documented that parenting behavior is partly heritable, but it is unclear how parents' genetics shape their caregiving. Using tools of molecular genetics, the present study investigated this process by testing hypotheses about associations between a genome-wide polygenic score for educational attainment and parental caregiving in 702 members of the Dunedin Study, a population-representative birth cohort. Data have been prospectively collected from when Study members were born through to midlife, and include assessments of the caregiving they provided once they became parents. Results showed that parents' polygenic scores predicted warm, sensitive, and stimulating caregiving, both in personal interactions with their young children (as captured on video) and through the home environments they created for their families (as observed by home visitors). The magnitude of this effect was small. Polygenic-score associations were independent of well-established predictors of parenting, such as parents' own childhood experiences of parenting and the age at which they became parents. Polygenic-score associations were mediated by parents' early-emerging cognitive abilities and self-control skills. Findings have implications for theory and research about genetic influences on caregiving and child development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

BackgroundChildren with conduct problems that persist into adulthood are at increased risk for future behavioral, health, and social problems. However, the longer term public service usage among these children has not been fully documented. To aid public health and intervention planning, adult service usage across criminal justice, health care, and social welfare domains is compared among all individuals from a representative cohort who followed different conduct problem trajectories from childhood into adulthood.MethodsParticipants are from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, a prospective, representative cohort of consecutive births (N = 1,037) from April 1972 to March 1973 in Dunedin, New Zealand. Regression analyses were used to compare levels of public service usage up to age 38, gathered via administrative and electronic medical records, between participants who displayed distinct subtypes of childhood conduct problems (low, childhood-limited, adolescent-onset, and life-course persistent).ResultsChildren exhibiting life-course persistent conduct problems used significantly more services as adults than those with low levels of childhood conduct problems. Although this group comprised only 9.0% of the population, they accounted for 53.3% of all convictions, 15.7% of emergency department visits, 20.5% of prescription fills, 13.1% of injury claims, and 24.7% of welfare benefit months. Half of this group (50.0%) also accrued high service use across all three domains of criminal justice, health, and social welfare services, as compared to only 11.3% of those with low conduct problems (OR = 7.27, 95% CI = 4.42-12.0).ConclusionsConduct problems in childhood signal high future costs in terms of service utilization across multiple sectors. Future evaluations of interventions aimed at conduct problems should also track potential reductions in health burden and service usage that stretch into midlife.

ObjectiveDNA methylation has been proposed as an epigenetic mechanism by which early-life experiences become "embedded" in the genome and alter transcriptional processes to compromise health. The authors sought to investigate whether early-life victimization stress is associated with genome-wide DNA methylation.MethodThe authors tested the hypothesis that victimization is associated with DNA methylation in the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Study, a nationally representative 1994-1995 birth cohort of 2,232 twins born in England and Wales and assessed at ages 5, 7, 10, 12, and 18 years. Multiple forms of victimization were ascertained in childhood and adolescence (including physical, sexual, and emotional abuse; neglect; exposure to intimate-partner violence; bullying; cyber-victimization; and crime).ResultsEpigenome-wide analyses of polyvictimization across childhood and adolescence revealed few significant associations with DNA methylation in peripheral blood at age 18, but these analyses were confounded by tobacco smoking and/or did not survive co-twin control tests. Secondary analyses of specific forms of victimization revealed sparse associations with DNA methylation that did not replicate across different operationalizations of the same putative victimization experience. Hypothesis-driven analyses of six candidate genes in the stress response (NR3C1, FKBP5, BDNF, AVP, CRHR1, SLC6A4) did not reveal predicted associations with DNA methylation in probes annotated to these genes.ConclusionsFindings from this epidemiological analysis of the epigenetic effects of early-life stress do not support the hypothesis of robust changes in DNA methylation in victimized young people. We need to come to terms with the possibility that epigenetic epidemiology is not yet well matched to experimental, nonhuman models in uncovering the biological embedding of stress.

This is the first of two papers describing the creation of measurement tools for four Maori constructs of positive child behaviour - tuakiri (secure local Maori identity); whanauranga (acting as a member of a whanau); manawaroa (persisting despite difficulty); and piripono (having integrity, commitment and responsibility). This paper describes the psychometric properties of these new measures. Parents and teachers completed questionnaires on 28 children aged 0-5 years five times over 10 months in a Maori-medium early years setting, and video observations were made. Ratings of the videos showed good inter-rater reliability. All questionnaire measures had good internal consistency. Associations of questionnaires with rated observations varied at some timepoints suggesting a need to include both in ongoing research. This study provides initial evidence about reliability of our novel Maori measurement tools for assessment of preschool Maori children. Keywords: Maori Indigenous psychology, Maori constructs, Maori child behaviour measures, Maori child development, reliability, validity, Introduction In Aotearoa, a number of measurement tools are used to assess and evaluate young children's development and behaviour. These assessments are commonly carried out by psychologists in research or [...]

Supporting positive early childhood development is important for both short and long-term outcomes. This paper is the second of two papers examining the measurement of four Maori constructs underpinning positive child behaviours--tuakiri (secure local Maori identity); whanauranga (acting as a member of a whanau); manawaroa (persisting despite difficulty); and piripono (having integrity, commitment and responsibility). Here, we describe changes in measures of these constructs over a 10 month period. Whanau (families) and kaitiaki (teachers) completed questionnaires and video observations were made of 28 Maori children aged 0-5 years. Growth curve analysis revealed significant positive change in each construct across five timepoints, even controlling for age differences. These findings provide proof-of-concept that our novel measures of the four constructs are sensitive to change in positive child behaviours among preschool Maori children. Keywords: Maori child behaviour, Maori child development, kaupapa Maori, early childhood assessment, indigenous measurement tools, growth curve models, Introduction Evidence generated over recent decades demonstrates positive effects of well-designed preschool education programmes on children's developmental and behavioural outcomes in the short-term, and on their potential life trajectories over [...]

Twin studies have documented that parenting behavior is partly heritable, but it is unclear how parents' genetics shape their caregiving. Using tools of molecular genetics, the present study investigated this process by testing hypotheses about associations between a genome-wide polygenic score for educational attainment and parental caregiving in 702 members of the Dunedin Study, a population-representative birth cohort. Data have been prospectively collected from when Study members were born through to midlife, and include assessments of the caregiving they provided once they became parents. Results showed that parents' polygenic scores predicted warm, sensitive, and stimulating caregiving, both in personal interactions with their young children (as captured on video) and through the home environments they created for their families (as observed by home visitors). The magnitude of this effect was small. Polygenic-score associations were independent of well-established predictors of parenting, such as parents' own childhood experiences of parenting and the age at which they became parents. Polygenic-score associations were mediated by parents' early-emerging cognitive abilities and self-control skills. Findings have implications for theory and research about genetic influences on caregiving and child development.

Higher education confers significant private and social benefits. Maori and Pacific peoples are under-represented within New Zealand universities and have poorer labour market outcomes (e.g., lower wages, under-represented in skilled professions). A New Zealand tertiary education priority is to boost Maori and Pacific success in an effort to improve outcomes for these graduates, their communities and society in general. Using information collected in the Graduate Longitudinal Study New Zealand, we compared Maori and Pacific university graduate outcomes with outcomes of other New Zealand graduates. Data were collected when the participants were in their final year of study (n = 8719) and two years post-graduation (n = 6104). Employment outcomes were comparable between Maori, Pacific and other New Zealand graduates at two years post-graduation; however, Maori and Pacific graduates had significantly higher student debt burden and financial strain over time. They were significantly more likely to help others (e.g., family) across a range of situations (e.g., lending money), and reported higher levels of volunteerism compared to their counterparts. Boosting higher education success for Maori and Pacific students has the potential to reduce ethnic inequalities in New Zealand labour market outcomes and may result in significant private benefits for these graduates and social benefits as a result of their contribution to society.