Sociogenomics: theoretical and empirical challenges of integrating molecular genetics into sociological thinking

Mills, Melinda

doi:10.4337/9781789909432.00022

Cited by 4 publications

References 59 publications

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How Can Genetically Informative Research Contribute to Life Course Research?

Diewald

2024

Köln Z Soziol

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Genetically informative studies have established a new research field that crosscuts disciplinary boundaries within the social sciences, as well as between social science and biology, with proprietary aims and research questions. This happens, however, at the cost of appropriate integration into the current theoretical and conceptual streams in the social sciences, e.g., sociology. That such a fruitful integration is possible is demonstrated for the case of life course research. The focus in dominantly, though not exclusively, on sociological concepts of the life course. This article first introduces central concepts of genetically informative research and life course research and then discusses possible ways to integrate genetic information into the life course research agenda, giving a brief overview of the main methodological tools available.

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How Can Genetically Informative Research Contribute to Life Course Research?

Diewald

2024

Köln Z Soziol

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Showcasing the Variety of Biosocial and Evolutionary Approaches in Sociology: Introduction to the Special Issue

Schnettler,

Huinink

2024

Köln Z Soziol

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This introduction to the special issue explores the increasing integration of biosocial and evolutionary approaches within sociology, highlighting the diverse ways in which these perspectives are incorporated into sociological research. In the past, sociology had reservations against or even rejected biological and evolutionary explanations of human behavior and often viewed them with skepticism. However, recent developments have seen a resurgence of interest in these approaches, leading to the emergence of interdisciplinary subfields such as biosociology, evolutionary sociology, neurosociology, and sociogenomics. This introduction provides a historical overview of biological and evolutionary thinking with regard to human behavior and sociality, tracing its roots from Darwinian theory to its contemporary applications within sociology. We discuss the conceptual and methodological differences between these approaches and offer an overview of key contributions that illustrate their relevance to core sociological topics. The articles in this special issue—which we summarize in this introduction—exemplify the variety of work being done at the intersection of sociology and the bio- and evolutionary sciences, from theoretical explorations to empirical studies. By presenting this range of interdisciplinary research, we aim to invite a broader sociological audience to engage with these perspectives, contributing to the development of a more comprehensive understanding of human behavior that sheds the dualism between nature and nurture—long overcome outside of sociology—for a consolidated effort to examine how nature and nurture are intertwined in multiple and complex ways.

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Polygenic prediction of occupational status GWAS elucidates genetic and environmental interplay in intergenerational transmission, careers and health in UK Biobank

Akimova,

Wolfram,

Ding

et al. 2024

Nat Hum Behav

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Socioeconomic status (SES) impacts health and life-course outcomes. This genome-wide association study (GWAS) of sociologically informed occupational status measures (ISEI, SIOPS, CAMSIS) using the UK Biobank (N = 273,157) identified 106 independent single-nucleotide polymorphisms of which 8 are novel to the study of SES. Genetic correlations with educational attainment (rg = 0.96–0.97) and income (rg = 0.81–0.91) point to a common genetic factor for SES. We observed a 54–57% reduction in within-family predictions compared with population-based predictions, attributed to indirect parental effects (22–27% attenuation) and assortative mating (21–27%) following our calculations. Using polygenic scores from population predictions of 5–10% (incremental R2 = 0.023–0.097 across different approaches and occupational status measures), we showed that (1) cognitive and non-cognitive traits, including scholastic and occupational motivation and aspiration, link polygenic scores to occupational status and (2) 62% of the intergenerational transmission of occupational status cannot be ascribed to genetic inheritance of common variants but other factors such as family environments. Finally, links between genetics, occupation, career trajectory and health are interrelated with parental occupational status.

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Sociogenomics: theoretical and empirical challenges of integrating molecular genetics into sociological thinking

Cited by 4 publications

References 59 publications

How Can Genetically Informative Research Contribute to Life Course Research?

How Can Genetically Informative Research Contribute to Life Course Research?

Showcasing the Variety of Biosocial and Evolutionary Approaches in Sociology: Introduction to the Special Issue

Polygenic prediction of occupational status GWAS elucidates genetic and environmental interplay in intergenerational transmission, careers and health in UK Biobank

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