Contrary to previous findings between genetics and parenting (Klahr & Burt, 2014; Wertz et al., 2019), we did not find an association between parental education polygenic score nor offspring education polygenic score and parental bonding. There was, however, a significant and positive bivariate correlation between offspring education polygenic score and maternal parental bonding (r = .10). The lack of associations could partly reflect the reduced sample size for these analyses, limiting our power to detect an effect. In addition, our measure of parenting (parental bonding) was assessed during adolescent years (ages 12–17). Prior studies tend to focus on measures of parenting in early childhood or middle childhood years (e.g., before age 12; Wertz et al., 2019). It is plausible that the rGE processes surrounding parenting begin earlier in development and that offspring’ genetic predispositions may influence their reports of parenting. Replicating our findings in larger samples is needed.
