Qi Qin

• Schwaba, Ted; Sullivan, Margaret L. Clapp; Akingbuwa, Wonuola A.; Ilves, Kerli; Tanksley, Peter T. & Williams, Camille M. [Show all 138 contributors for this article] (2026). Robust inference and correlates from genetic associations with personality. Nature. ISSN 0028-0836. doi: 10.1038/s41586-026-10992-9. Full text in Research Archive
• Qin, Qi; Cheesman, Rosa Catherine Gillespie; Eilertsen, Espen Moen & Ystrom, Eivind (2026). Children's psychological traits and educational performance: How schools and residential areas moderate how individual traits translate into academic outcomes. JCPP Advances. p. 1–15. doi: 10.1002/jcv2.70100. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Abstract Background The extent to which children's psychological traits influence their educational performance is thought to depend on the fit between the individual and their developmental context. However, this assumption has yet to be empirically tested on a population scale. This study examines how neurodevelopmental, mental health, and personality traits interact with latent environmental contexts to enhance, maintain, or mitigate their educational performance. Methods Using the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa), we estimated the association between 16 developmental traits and grade point average (GPA) in 26,875 children across environmental contexts in 2131 primary schools, 1075 middle schools, ~14,000 neighborhoods, 1471 districts, and 347 municipalities. Results Across the developmental traits, the effect on GPA ranged from −0.286 to 0.220. However, these effects varied substantially across environmental contexts (SD 0.022 to 0.090). Trait‐by‐context interactions were detected in primary schools (2 traits), middle schools (6 traits), neigbourhoods (0 traits), districts (3 traits), and municipalities (1 trait), respectively. Moderation magnitudes were largest for neurodevelopmental traits in primary schools. On average, the effects of ADHD and communication difficulties were −0.252 and −0.193. However, these effects differed substantially across primary schools with SD 0.090 and 0.070, implying b  < −0.370 and b  < −0.282 in 10% of schools. For average children, primary schools explained 0.504% of middle school GPA. Similarly, the effect of depression and extraversion was dependent on middle‐school environments ( b  = −0.128; SD = 0.058 and b  = 0.024; SD = 0.022). Moreover, schools and districts with high GPAs tended to express lower detrimental effects on children's developmental traits. Conclusion Schools and residential areas function as educational catalysts, enhancing or mitigating the influence of developmental traits. High‐performing environments compensate for psychological challenges, whereas lower‐performing contexts exacerbate difficulties. Because the study integrated multiple traits and contextual levels, the analyses were exploratory and data‐driven, and the findings should be interpreted as hypothesis‐generating. These results suggest a need for both context‐sensitive and individually tailored educational interventions.

• Tamnes, Christian K.; Bekkhus, Mona; Eilertsen, Maja; Nes, Ragnhild Bang; Prydz, Monica Beer & Ystrom, Eivind [Show all 63 contributors for this article] (2025). The nature of the relation between mental well-being and ill-being. Nature Human Behaviour. 9(12), p. 2431–2440. doi: 10.1038/s41562-025-02319-x. Full text in Research Archive
• Cheesman, Rosa Catherine Gillespie; Anapaz, Ville; Alten, Sjoerd van; Abdellaoui, Abdel; Porneso, Ralph Pascual Ortiz & Ebeltoft, Joakim Coleman [Show all 16 contributors for this article] (2025). Genetic associations with educational fields. Nature Genetics. ISSN 1061-4036. 57, p. 2997–3006. doi: 10.1038/s41588-025-02391-z. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Educational field choices shape careers, wellbeing and the societal skill distribution, yet genetic influences on what people study remain poorly understood. Here we show that genetic factors are associated with educational field specializations using genome-wide association studies (GWASs) across 463,134 individuals from Finland, Norway and the Netherlands (effective n between 40,072 and 317,209). We identified 17 independent genome-wide significant variants linked to 7 of 10 educational fields, with average heritability of 7%. The genetic signal is specific to field choice rather than educational level, persisting after controlling for years of schooling and confounding factors. By examining genetic clustering across specializations, we uncovered two key dimensions: technical versus social and practical versus abstract. We performed GWASs of these components and demonstrated distinct genetic correlations with personality, behavior and socioeconomic status. Our findings demonstrate that genomic research can illuminate ‘horizontal’ stratification, revealing insights into vocational interests and social sorting beyond traditional attainment measures.

View all works in NVA

• Qin, Qi; Demange, Perline Aline Delle; Eilertsen, Espen Moen; Cheesman, Rosa Catherine Gillespie & Ystrom, Eivind (2026). How Schools and Neighborhoods Shape the Translation of Polygenic Personality Indices into Academic Outcomes. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The Big Five personality traits are robust predictors of individual differences in academic outcomes, yet the mechanisms through which they shape the outcomes remain unclear. Building on our prior work showing contextual moderation of non-cognitive polygenic indices (PGI), we hypothesize that personality traits likewise do not exert uniform influences across contexts. Instead, their effects on academic outcomes emerge through dynamic interactions with the social and economic environments in which individuals develop. Recent GWAS on Big Five personality traits enable the construction of PGIs that quantify the individual-level genetic propensities, and are largely independent of the environment and minimize reverse causality. Using data from ~32,000 trios in the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) linked to national school and residential registries, we apply multilevel models to investigate how personality-related PGIs contribute to students’ grade point average (GPA), and how these associations vary across latent school and neighborhood contexts. We further test the extent to which the measured socioeconomic status aggregates at the school and neighborhood level interact with individual liability in personality traits. This work aims to provide a comprehensive framework for understanding how individual propensities for personality become developmentally expressed into academic outcomes within real-world contextual ecologies.

• Ofstad, Sverre Berg; Demange, Perline Aline Delle; Torvik, Fartein Ask; Cheesman, Rosa Catherine Gillespie; Qin, Qi & Ystrøm, Eivind (2025). Using within-family polygenic indexes to examine sex-specific gene-environment interaction on GPA. Full text in Research Archive
• Ofstad, Sverre Berg; Demange, Perline Aline Delle; Cheesman, Rosa Catherine Gillespie; Qin, Qi; Torvik, Fartein Ask & Ystrøm, Eivind (2025). from DNA to GPA: a genetically informed study of the male disadvantage in schools. Full text in Research Archive
• Qin, Qi; Ystrøm, Eivind; Eilertsen, Espen Moen; Ofstad, Sverre Berg; Ayorech, Ziada & Cheesman, Rosa Catherine Gillespie (2024). School-level Moderation of Multiple Within- Family Polygenic Index Effects on Educational Performance in MoBa (n=27476 Trios). Full text in Research Archive
• Cheesman, Rosa Catherine Gillespie; Anapaz, Ville; Alten, Sjoerd van; Abdellaoui, Abdel; Ebeltoft, Joakim Coleman & Porneso, Ralph Pascual Ortiz [Show all 16 contributors for this article] (2024). The Genetics of Educational Fields. Full text in Research Archive
• Qin, Qi; Ystrøm, Eivind; Eilertsen, Espen Moen; Ofstad, Sverre Berg; Ayorech, Ziada & Cheesman, Rosa Catherine Gillespie (2024). School-level Moderation of Multiple Within- Family Polygenic Index Effects on Educational Performance in MoBa (n=27476 Trios). Full text in Research Archive
• Ofstad, Sverre Berg; Demange, Perline Aline Delle; Cheesman, Rosa Catherine Gillespie; Qin, Qi & Ystrøm, Eivind (2024). Nature Meets Schooling: Why Boys Fall Behind in GPA Despite Equal Genetic Potential (ESSGN). Full text in Research Archive
• Ofstad, Sverre Berg; Demange, Perline Aline Delle; Cheesman, Rosa Catherine Gillespie; Qin, Qi & Ystrøm, Eivind (2024). Sex-specific gene x school interactions found by using within-family polygenic score and twin modelling. Full text in Research Archive
• Ofstad, Sverre Berg; Demange, Perline Aline Delle; Cheesman, Rosa Catherine Gillespie; Qin, Qi & Ystrøm, Eivind (2024). Nature Meets Schooling: Why Boys Fall Behind in GPA Despite Equal Genetic Potential. Full text in Research Archive
• Ebeltoft, Joakim Coleman; Eilertsen, Espen Moen; Cheesman, Rosa Catherine Gillespie; Ayorech, Ziada; Qin, Qi & Ystrøm, Eivind (2023). The inheritance of inequality: Comparing heritability estimates of socioeconomic status. Full text in Research Archive
• Qin, Qi; Cheesman, Rosa Catherine Gillespie; Eilertsen, Espen Moen; Ebeltoft, Joakim Coleman; Ayorech, Ziada & Ystrøm, Eivind (2023). School and geographical differences in the effect of heritable emotional and behavioral traits on educational performance. Full text in Research Archive
• Qin, Qi; Cheesman, Rosa Catherine Gillespie; Eilertsen, Espen Moen; Ebeltoft, Joakim Coleman; Ayorech, Ziada & Ystrøm, Eivind (2023). School and geographical differences in the effect of heritable emotional and behavioural traits on educational performance. Full text in Research Archive
• Ebeltoft, Joakim Coleman; Eilertsen, Espen Moen; Cheesman, Rosa Catherine Gillespie; Ayorech, Ziada; Qin, Qi & Ystrøm, Eivind (2023). Inheritance of inequality: Comparing heritability estimates. Full text in Research Archive
• Ebeltoft, Joakim Coleman; Eilertsen, Espen Moen; Cheesman, Rosa Catherine Gillespie; Ayorech, Ziada; Qin, Qi & Ystrøm, Eivind (2023). Inheritance of inequality. Full text in Research Archive

View all works in NVA