Health Gap: Helse, modning og kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner

• Flatø, Martin; Bratsberg, Bernt Magne; Kotsadam, Andreas; Torvik, Fartein Ask; Røgeberg, Ole & Stoltenberg, Camilla (2025). Ready for school? Effects on school starters of establishing school psychology offices in Norway. Education Economics. s. 1–19. doi: 10.1080/09645292.2025.2588588. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  We consider long-term impacts of establishing school psychology offices in Norway. In the 1960s, these offices assessed school readiness resulting in increased postponement of schooling for children born late in the year. We find a positive effect of establishing offices in the 1967–1970 period on adult income, with stronger effects for younger children in each cohort, males, and children in low-income families. After a legislative change in 1976, the offices could reject applications for delayed school entry. In this period, we find no overall benefits of establishing an office, and negative effects on adult earnings for males and disadvantaged children.

• Askelund, Jo Adrian Dahl; Hegemann, Laura Elizabeth; Allegrini, Andrea G.; Corfield, Elizabeth Claire; Ask, Helga & Davies, Neil Martin [Vis alle 9 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2025). The Genetic Architecture of Differentiating Behavioral and Emotional Problems in Early Life. Biological Psychiatry. 97(12), s. 1163–1174. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2024.12.021. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Background: Early in life, behavioral and cognitive traits associated with risk for developing a psychiatric condition are broad and undifferentiated. As children develop, these traits differentiate into characteristic clusters of symptoms and behaviors that ultimately form the basis of diagnostic categories. Understanding this differentiation process—in the context of genetic risk for psychiatric conditions, which is highly generalized—can improve early detection and intervention. Methods: We modeled the differentiation of behavioral and emotional problems from age 1.5 to 5 years (behavioral problems − emotional problems = differentiation score) in a preregistered study of ∼79,000 children from the population-based Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study. We used genomic structural equation modeling to identify genetic signal in differentiation and total problems, investigating their links with 11 psychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions. We examined associations of polygenic scores (PGS) with both outcomes and assessed the relative contributions of direct and indirect genetic effects in ∼33,000 family trios. Results: Differentiation was primarily genetically correlated with psychiatric conditions via a neurodevelopmental factor. Total problems were primarily associated with the neurodevelopmental factor and p-factor. PGS analyses revealed an association between liability to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and differentiation (β = 0.11; 95% CI, 0.10 to 0.12) and a weaker association with total problems (β = 0.06; 95% CI, 0.04 to 0.07). Trio-PGS analyses showed predominantly direct genetic effects on both outcomes. Conclusions: We uncovered genomic signal in the differentiation process, mostly related to common variants associated with neurodevelopmental conditions. Investigating the differentiation of early-life behavioral and emotional problems may enhance our understanding of the developmental emergence of different psychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions.

• Røed, Marianne; Schøne, Pål & Strøm, Marte (2025). How important is girls’ ‘Biological Head Start’ in explaining gender differences in education and the labour market? Economics and Human Biology. 56. doi: 10.1016/j.ehb.2024.101466. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  We investigate whether gender differences in physical maturity during adolescence can explain gender differences in educational and labour market performance. Using survey data with measures of physical maturity linked to register data on education and labour market outcomes, we analyse the importance of physical maturity for gender differences in both the short and long terms. The results show that that gender differences in physical maturity partially explain both the gender gap in educational performance (in girls’ favour) and the gender gap in labour market outcomes at age 33 (in boys’ favour). Taken together, the results suggest that girls’ physical head start gives them an advantage in the schooling system and that this advantage continues long into adulthood, indicating that the head start has long-lasting cumulative effects on learning.

• Reme, Bjørn-Atle; Røgeberg, Ole & Torvik, Fartein Ask (2024). School performance and the social gradient in young adult death in Norway. Nature Human Behaviour. 9, s. 84–89. doi: 10.1038/s41562-024-02053-w. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Young adults from low socioeconomic backgrounds face an increased risk of early mortality. Here we utilize population-wide data from 17 Norwegian birth cohorts (N = 986,573) to assess whether this risk gradient was explained by early-life educational performance, specifically grade point average at 16 years of age. We show that the gradients in both parental education and income largely disappeared when adjusting for school performance in the models. Specifically, among boys, those with the lowest parental education had an unadjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 2.04 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.86–2.22) compared with peers with the highest parental education, while for girls, the HR was 1.64 (95% CI 1.35–1.93). After adjusting for school performance, these estimates dropped to 0.99 (95% CI 0.79–1.19) for boys and 0.87 (95% CI 0.55–1.19) for girls. Similarly, the mortality risk for those from the lowest parental income quartile decreased from 1.79 (95% CI 1.67–1.91) to 1.25 (95% CI 1.12–1.38) for boys and from 1.63 (95% CI 1.44–1.83) to 1.24 (95% CI 1.03–1.46) for girls. Low educational performance remained strongly associated with early mortality in analyses accounting for unobserved heterogeneity at the family level; boys with a grade point average in the lowest quartile had an HR of 3.04 (95% CI 2.38–3.89), while for girls, the HR was 1.79 (95% CI 1.22–2.63). External causes of death, particularly accidents and poisoning, were most overrepresented among individuals with poor school performance.

• Askelund, Adrian Dahl; Wootton, Robyn E.; Torvik, Fartein A.; Lawn, Rebecca B.; Ask, Helga & Corfield, Elizabeth C. [Vis alle 15 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2024). Assessing causal links between age at menarche and adolescent mental health: a Mendelian randomisation study. BMC Medicine. 22(1). doi: 10.1186/s12916-024-03361-8. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Background: The timing of puberty may have an important impact on adolescent mental health. In particular, earlier age at menarche has been associated with elevated rates of depression in adolescents. Previous research suggests that this relationship may be causal, but replication and an investigation of whether this effect extends to other mental health domains is warranted. Methods: In this Registered Report, we triangulated evidence from different causal inference methods using a new wave of data (N = 13,398) from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study. We combined multiple regression, one- and two-sample Mendelian randomisation (MR), and negative control analyses (using pre-pubertal symptoms as outcomes) to assess the causal links between age at menarche and different domains of adolescent mental health. Results: Our results supported the hypothesis that earlier age at menarche is associated with elevated depressive symptoms in early adolescence based on multiple regression (β =  − 0.11, 95% CI [− 0.12, − 0.09], pone-tailed < 0.01). One-sample MR analyses suggested that this relationship may be causal (β =  − 0.07, 95% CI [− 0.13, 0.00], pone-tailed = 0.03), but the effect was small, corresponding to just a 0.06 standard deviation increase in depressive symptoms with each earlier year of menarche. There was also some evidence of a causal relationship with depression diagnoses during adolescence based on one-sample MR (OR = 0.74, 95% CI [0.54, 1.01], pone-tailed = 0.03), corresponding to a 29% increase in the odds of receiving a depression diagnosis with each earlier year of menarche. Negative control and two-sample MR sensitivity analyses were broadly consistent with this pattern of results. Multivariable MR analyses accounting for the genetic overlap between age at menarche and childhood body size provided some evidence of confounding. Meanwhile, we found little consistent evidence of effects on other domains of mental health after accounting for co-occurring depression and other confounding. Conclusions: We found evidence that age at menarche affected diagnoses of adolescent depression, but not other domains of mental health. Our findings suggest that earlier age at menarche is linked to problems in specific domains rather than adolescent mental health in general.

• Hannigan, Laurie; Lund, Ingunn Olea; Askelund, Jo Adrian Dahl; Ystrøm, Eivind; Corfield, Elizabeth Claire & Ask, Helga [Vis alle 7 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2023). Genotype-environment interplay in associations between maternal drinking and offspring emotional and behavioral problems. Psychological Medicine. 54(1), s. 203–214. doi: 10.1017/S0033291723003057. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Background While maternal at-risk drinking is associated with children's emotional and behavioral problems, there is a paucity of research that properly accounts for genetic confounding and gene–environment interplay. Therefore, it remains uncertain what mechanisms underlie these associations. We assess the moderation of associations between maternal at-risk drinking and childhood emotional and behavioral problems by common genetic variants linked to environmental sensitivity (genotype–environment [G × E] interaction) while accounting for shared genetic risk between mothers and offspring (G × E correlation). Methods We use data from 109 727 children born to 90 873 mothers enrolled in the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study. Women self-reported alcohol consumption and reported emotional and behavioral problems when children were 1.5/3/5 years old. We included child polygenic scores (PGSs) for traits linked to environmental sensitivity as moderators. Results Associations between maternal drinking and child emotional (β1 = 0.04 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.03–0.05]) and behavioral (β1 = 0.07 [0.06–0.08]) outcomes attenuated after controlling for measured confounders and were almost zero when we accounted for unmeasured confounding (emotional: β1 = 0.01 [0.00–0.02]; behavioral: β1 = 0.01 [0.00–0.02]). We observed no moderation of these adjusted exposure effects by any of the PGS. Conclusions The lack of strong evidence for G × E interaction may indicate that the mechanism is not implicated in this kind of intergenerational association. It may also reflect insufficient power or the relatively benign nature of the exposure in this sample.

• Hjarnaa, Louise; Møller, Sanne Pagh; Curtis, Alberte Brix; Becker, Ulrik; Andersen, Ove & Torvik, Fartein Ask [Vis alle 7 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2023). Alcohol Intake and Academic Performance and Dropout in High School: A Prospective Cohort Study in 65,233 Adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health. 73, s. 1083–1092. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2023.07.008. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Constantinou, Andrea; Soest, Tilmann Martin von; Zachrisson, Henrik Daae; Torvik, Fartein Ask; Cheesman, Rosa Catherine Gillespie & Ystrøm, Eivind (2023). Childhood personality and academic performance: A sibling fixed-effects study. Journal of Personality. s. 1–13. doi: 10.1111/jopy.12900. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Objective: This study investigated the associations between personality traits at age 8 and academic performance between ages 10 and 14, controlling for family confounds. Background: Many studies have shown links between children’s personality traits and their school performance. However, we lack evidence on whether these associations remain after genetic and environmental confounders are accounted for. Method: Sibling data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) were used (n = 9701). First, we estimated the overall associations be- tween Big Five personality traits and academic performance, including literacy, numeracy, and foreign language. Second, we added sibling fixed effects to remove unmeasured confounders shared by siblings as well as rating bias. Results: Openness to Experience (between-person β = 0.22 [95% CI: 0.21–0.24]) and Conscientiousness (between-person β = 0.18 [95% CI 0.16–0.20]) were most strongly related to educational performance. Agreeableness (between-per- son β = 0.06 [95% CI −0.08–0.04]) and Extraversion (between-person β = 0.02 [95% CI 0.00–0.04]) showed small associations with educational performance. Neuroticism had a moderate negative association (between-person β = −0.14 [95% CI −0.15–0.11]). All associations between personality and performance were ro- bust to confounding: the within-family estimates from sibling fixed-effects mod- els overlapped with the between-person effects. Finally, childhood personality was equally predictive of educational performance across ages and genders. Conclusions: Although family background is influential for academic achieve- ment, it does not confound associations with personality. Childhood personal- ity traits reflect unbiased and consistent individual differences in educational potential.

• Kleppestø, Thomas Haarklau; Eilertsen, Espen Moen; Bergen, Elsje van; Sunde, Hans Fredrik; Zietsch, Brendan & Nordmo, Magnus [Vis alle 10 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2023). Intergenerational transmission of ADHD behaviors: Genetic and environmental pathways. Psychological Medicine. 54, s. 1309–1317. doi: 10.1017/S003329172300315X. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Sunde, Hans Fredrik; Kleppestø, Thomas Haarklau; Gustavson, Kristin; Nordmo, Magnus; Reme, Bjørn-Atle & Torvik, Fartein Ask (2022). The ADHD deficit in school performance across sex and parental education: A prospective sibling‐comparison register study of 344,152 Norwegian adolescents. JCPP Advances. 2(1), s. 1–9. doi: 10.1002/jcv2.12064. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Background Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is associated with impaired school performance, but the impact of ADHD may vary across sex, family background, and school subjects. By using prospective population-wide register data, we describe impairment in academic performance related to ADHD across different school subjects and investigate how this impairment differ across sex and parental education. Methods We examined grades and Grade Point Averages (GPA) at age ∼16 among 344,152 Norwegian children born between 1997 and 2002. We linked grades with diagnoses from publicly funded general practitioners and with demographic information. Associations between ADHD diagnosed between age 10 and 16 and school performance were estimated with linear models, including sibling-models which control for unobserved variables shared within families. Results Children with ADHD (4.0%) had −1.11 standard deviations lower GPAs compared to children without ADHD. This difference remained substantial after adjusting for demographic factors (−0.87), comorbid mental disorders (−0.82), early school performance (−0.54), and when comparing full siblings (−0.60). The relative ADHD deficit was 22% larger for girls than for boys and 39% larger for children with highly educated parents than for children of parents without completed high school, but the absolute deficit was smaller. Conclusion The ADHD deficit in school performance was large and not easily attributable to other factors. Because the ADHD deficit was large in all school subjects, interventions should ideally address factors that affect school performance broadly, although targeting theoretical subjects specifically may be most effective given limited resources.

• Cheesman, Rosa Catherine Gillespie; Eilertsen, Espen Moen; Ayorech, Ziada; Borgen, Nicolai Topstad; Andreassen, Ole & Larsson, Henrik [Vis alle 9 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2022). How interactions between ADHD and schools affect educational achievement: a family-based genetically sensitive study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 63(10), s. 1174–1185. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13656. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Background Children with ADHD tend to achieve less than their peers in school. It is unknown whether schools moderate this association. Nonrandom selection of children into schools related to variations in their ADHD risk poses a methodological problem. Methods We linked data on ADHD symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity and parent–child ADHD polygenic scores (PGS) from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) to achievement in standardised tests and school identifiers. We estimated interactions of schools with individual differences between students in inattention, hyperactivity, and ADHD-PGS using multilevel models with random slopes for ADHD effects on achievement over schools. In our PGS analyses, we adjust for parental selection of schools by adjusting for parental ADHD-PGS (a within-family PGS design). We then tested whether five school sociodemographic measures explained any interactions. Results Analysis of up to 23,598 students attending 2,579 schools revealed interactions between school and ADHD effects on achievement. The variability between schools in the effects of inattention, hyperactivity and within-family ADHD-PGS on achievement was 0.08, 0.07 and 0.05 SDs, respectively. For example, the average effect of inattention on achievement was β = −0.23 (SE = 0.009), but in 2.5% of schools with the weakest effects, the value was −0.07 or less. ADHD has a weaker effect on achievement in higher-performing schools. Schools make more of a difference to the achievements of students with higher levels of ADHD, explaining over four times as much variance in achievement for those with high versus average inattention symptoms. School sociodemographic measures could not explain the ADHD-by-school interactions. Conclusions Although ADHD symptoms and genetic risk tend to hinder achievement, schools where their effects are weaker do exist. Differences between schools in support for children with ADHD should be evened out.

• Eilertsen, Espen Moen; Cheesman, Rosa Catherine Gillespie; Ayorech, Ziada; Røysamb, Espen; Pingault, Jean-Baptiste & Njølstad, Pål Rasmus [Vis alle 11 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2022). On the importance of parenting in externalizing disorders: an evaluation of indirect genetic effects in families. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 63(10), s. 1186–1195. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13654. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Background: Theoretical models of the development of childhood externalizing disorders emphasize the role of parents. Empirical studies have not been able to identify specific aspects of parental behaviors explaining a considerable proportion of the observed individual differences in externalizing problems. The problem is complicated by the contribution of genetic factors to externalizing problems, as parents provide both genes and environments to their children. We studied the joint contributions of direct genetic effects of children and the indirect genetic effects of parents through the environment on externalizing problems. Methods: The study used genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism data from 9,675 parent–offspring trios participating in the Norwegian Mother Father and child cohort study. Based on genomic relatedness matrices, we estimated the contribution of direct genetic effects and indirect maternal and paternal genetic effects on ADHD, conduct and disruptive behaviors at 8 years of age. Results: Models including indirect parental genetic effects were preferred for the ADHD symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity, and conduct problems, but not oppositional defiant behaviors. Direct genetic effects accounted for 11% to 24% of the variance, whereas indirect parental genetic effects accounted for 0% to 16% in ADHD symptoms and conduct problems. The correlation between direct and indirect genetic effects, or gene–environment correlations, decreased the variance with 16% and 13% for conduct and inattention problems, and increased the variance with 6% for hyperactivity problems. Conclusions: This study provides empirical support to the notion that parents have a significant role in the development of childhood externalizing behaviors. The parental contribution to decrease in variation of inattention and conduct problems by gene–environment correlations would limit the number of children reaching clinical ranges in symptoms. Not accounting for indirect parental genetic effects can lead to both positive and negative bias when identifying genetic variants for childhood externalizing behaviors.

• Nordmo, Magnus; Kinge, Jonas Minet; Reme, Bjørn-Atle; Flatø, Martin; Suren, Pål & Wörn, Jonathan [Vis alle 9 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2022). The educational burden of disease: a cohort study. The Lancet Public Health. 7(6), s. e549–e556. doi: 10.1016/S2468-2667(22)00059-7. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Background Students with health disorders might be at risk of disengaging from education, which can reinforce socioeconomic inequalities in health. We aimed to evaluate the associations between 176 diseases and injuries and later school performance in Norwegian adolescents and to estimate the importance of each disorder using a novel measure for the educational burden of disease (EBoD). Methods We used diagnostic information from government-funded health services for all Norwegian inhabitants who were born between Jan 1, 1995, and Dec 31, 2002, were registered as living in Norway at age 11–16 years, and were participating in compulsory education. School performance was assessed as grade point average at the end of compulsory education at age 16 years. We used a linear regression of school performance on disease in a fixed-effects sibling comparison model (113 411 families). The association (regression coefficients) between disease and school performance was multiplied by disease prevalence to estimate the proportional EBoD among 467 412 individuals participating in compulsory education. Findings Overall, although most diseases were not meaningfully associated with grade point average (regression coefficients close to 0), some were strongly associated (eg, intellectual disability regression coefficients –1·2 for boys and –1·3 for girls). The total educational disease burden was slightly higher for girls (53·5%) than for boys (46·5%). Mental health disorders were associated with the largest educational burden among adolescents in Norway (total burden 44·6%; boys 24·6% vs girls 20·0%), of which hyperkinetic disorder contributed to 22·1% of the total burden (boys 14·6% vs girls 7·5%). Among somatic diseases, those with unknown causes and possibly mental causes were associated with the largest educational burden. Interpretation The EBoD concept could provide a simple metric to guide researchers and policy makers. Because mental health disorders form a large component of the educational burden, investment in mental health might be particularly important for improving educational outcomes in adolescents.

• Torvik, Fartein Ask; Flatø, Martin; McAdams, Tom A.; Colman, Ian; Silventoinen, Karri & Stoltenberg, Camilla (2021). Early Puberty Is Associated With Higher Academic Achievement in Boys and Girls and Partially Explains Academic Sex Differences. Journal of Adolescent Health. 69(3), s. 503–510. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2021.02.001. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Purpose On average, boys have lower academic achievement than girls. We investigated whether the timing of puberty is associated with academic achievement, and whether later puberty among boys contributes to the sex difference in academic achievement. Method Examination scores at age 16 were studied among 13,477 British twins participating in the population-based Twins Early Development Study. A pubertal development scale, a height-based proxy of growth spurt, and age at menarche were used as indicators of puberty. Associations between puberty, sex, and academic achievement were estimated in phenotypic mediation models and biometric twin models. Results Earlier puberty was associated with higher academic achievement both in boys and girls. The exception was early age at menarche in girls, which associated with lower academic achievement. More than half of the sex differences in academic achievement could be linked to sex differences in pubertal development, but part of this association appeared to be rooted in prepubertal differences. The biometric twin modelling indicated that the association between puberty and academic achievement was due to shared genetic risk factors. Genetic influences on pubertal development accounted for 7%–8% of the phenotypic variation in academic achievement. Conclusions Pubertal maturation relates to the examination scores of boys and of girls. This can give genes related to pubertal maturation an influence on outcomes in education and beyond. Sex differences in pubertal maturation can explain parts of the sex difference in academic achievement. Grading students when they are immature may not accurately measure their academic potential.

• Andreas, Jasmina Burdzovic; Torvik, Fartein Ask & Lund, Ingunn Olea (2021). Parental binge drinking and offspring’s high school non-completion: A prospective HUNT survey and educational registry study. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 230(1 January), s. 1–9. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.109189. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Background Alcohol-use disorders (AUD) in parents are associated with adverse outcomes in offspring. It is less known whether other forms of parental drinking such as binge drinking may also be a risk factor for offspring’s outcomes -- specifically, high school non-completion. Methods These questions were examined in a sample of 3101 offspring (Mage = 16.1 , SD = 1.68; 49.5% girls) from 2510 2-parent families who participated in the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study in Norway (HUNT3; Young-HUNT3) in 2006–08 and were followed-up through the National Education Database (NUDB) until 2014. Associations between maternal and paternal binge drinking patterns as reported in HUNT during offspring’s adolescence and offspring’s subsequent high school completion were examined using logistic regression models while accounting for a comprehensive set of socio-demographic, parental, and offspring characteristics as assessed at HUNT baseline. Effect modifications of these putative associations by offspring characteristics were also explored. Findings Approximately 1 in 6 offspring (13.6% girls, 21.1% boys) failed to graduate high school within the officially designated time period, while roughly 1 in 5 mothers (20.4%) and 1 in 2 fathers (51.2%) reported any binge drinking. Weekly or more frequent binge drinking in fathers was prospectively associated with more than doubled odds of high school non-completion in offspring; OR = 2.23, 95% CI = 1.50–3.31. This effect remained substantively identical after adjustment for all covariates (aOR = 2.20, 95% CI = 1.38–3.50) and uniform across offspring characteristics such as gender, academic orientation and performance, anxiety and depression, typical alcohol consumption, and witnessing parental intoxication as assessed at HUNT baseline. Conclusions Weekly or more frequent binge drinking in fathers negatively affected high school graduation prospects in their offspring.

• Brandlistuen, Ragnhild Eek; Flatø, Martin; Stoltenberg, Camilla; Helland, Siri Saugestad & Wang, Mari Vaage (2020). Gender gaps in preschool age: A study of behavior, neurodevelopment and pre-academic skills. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. s. 1–8. doi: 10.1177/1403494820944740. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Torvik, Fartein Ask; Eilertsen, Espen Moen; McAdams, Tom A.; Gustavson, Kristin; Zachrisson, Henrik Daae & Brandlistuen, Ragnhild Eek [Vis alle 11 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2020). Mechanisms linking parental educational attainment with child ADHD, depression, and academic problems: a study of extended families in The Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 61(9), s. 1009–1018. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13197. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Background: Low educational attainment in parents is associated with child psychopathology. It is not clear whether the associations are due to risk factors that family members share or due to effects of maternal or paternal education on the offspring. We investigate whether associations between maternal and paternal educational attainment and child symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, and academic problems are due to shared genetic factors, shared family environmental factors, or effects of the parental phenotype educational attainment itself. Methods: This study is based on the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). The sample comprised 34,958 children (17,128 girls) in 28,372 extended‐family units. We used data from related nuclear families linked by siblings in the parent generation. We applied a quasi‐experimental extended children‐of‐twins design that included siblings in both generations and took account of nonrandom mating by including partners. Educational attainment was self‐reported by mothers and fathers. Mothers reported children's symptoms of ADHD, symptoms of depression, and academic problems by questionnaire when the children were 8 years old. Results: Children of lowly educated parents scored higher on all outcomes and had an approximate doubling of the risk of high symptom levels. The association between maternal and paternal educational attainment and child symptoms of ADHD and academic problems persisted after controlling for shared genetic and family environmental factors. Phenotypic transmission to depression was weaker and in the best fitting model fully explained by genetic factors shared by the two generations. Conclusions: Associations between educational attainment of mothers and fathers and child symptoms of ADHD and academic problems could not be ascribed to shared familial risk factors, whereas associations with symptoms of depression could. Parental education or resources and behaviors resulting from low education might be targets of interventions aimed at reducing symptoms of ADHD and academic problems.

• Lund, Ingunn Olea; Eilertsen, Espen Moen; Gjerde, Line C.; Torvik, Fartein Ask; Røysamb, Espen & Reichborn-Kjennerud, Ted [Vis alle 7 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2020). Maternal Drinking and Child Emotional and Behavior Problems. Pediatrics. 145(3). doi: 10.1542/peds.2019-2007. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv

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• Torvik, Fartein Ask (2023). School performance and mortality in young adulthood: a register-based population study. medRxiv. doi: 10.1101/2023.03.15.23287297. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Askelund, Adrian Dahl; Hegemann, Laura; Corfield, Elizabeth Claire; Ask, Helga; Ystrøm, Eivind & Havdahl, Alexandra [Vis alle 7 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2022). The genomics of psychiatric symptom differentiation in early life. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Background: An emerging body of evidence suggests that genetic risk for psychiatric conditions is diffuse, probabilistic in nature, and overlaps substantially across different domains. However, psychiatric conditions are diagnosed and treated as specific disorders based on differentiated symptom clusters. In the context of generalised genetic risk, it remains to be determined how distinct psychiatric conditions emerge. The prospects of using genomic data to predict individual-level risk for psychiatric conditions are at present unclear. For prediction to be useful, it needs to be both sensitive (identifying who is at risk) and specific (at risk for what). While increasing sample sizes for genetic discovery may boost sensitivity, the generalised nature of genetic risk implies that identifying predictors of differentiation of psychiatric symptoms may be needed to increase specificity. The Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) is a large population-based pregnancy cohort with genotype and phenotype data, ideally suited to address these questions. Methods: We used the Child Behavior Checklist to assess behavioural and emotional difficulties at ages 1.5, 3, and 5. Symptom¬ differentiation was operationalised as the relative level of these domains over time (behavioural difficulties – emotional difficulties = differentiation). This means that individuals with high scores have relatively more behavioural than emotional difficulties, and the inverse for low scores. These scores can be compared to overall difficulties (behavioural + emotional = total). Following a preregistered analysis plan, we estimated latent growth trajectories of differentiation across early childhood, as well as mediation effects of differentiation on symptoms of psychiatric conditions at age 8. We tested associations between 10 polygenic scores (PGS) for core neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions and the extent (intercept) and rate (slope) of the differentiation process. The analytic sample comprised 57,387 genotyped children (including 12,347 pairs of full siblings) from MoBa. We used multilevel structural equation models to account for unmeasured familial confounding, and corrected for multiple comparisons using FDR. Results: ADHD PGS predicted the extent and rate of differentiation toward behavioural difficulties in early childhood (βintercept = 0.10 [0.09, 0.11]; βslope = 0.02 [0.02, 0.03]), and the extent of differentiation at age 5 in turn mediated 33-37% of the PGS associations with ADHD symptoms at age 8. The ADHD PGS association was smaller for total difficulties (βintercept = 0.05 [0.04, 0.06]; βslope = 0.01 [0.01, 0.02]). Schizophrenia PGS predicted differentiation toward emotional difficulties at age 5 (βintercept = -0.03 [-0.04, -0.02]; βslope = -0.01 [-0.02, -0.01]), and bipolar disorder PGS predicted differentiation toward behavioural difficulties (βintercept = 0.02 [0.01, 0.03]; βslope = 0.01 [0.01, 0.02]) – though in both cases effect sizes were substantially smaller. Discussion: We identify genomic predictors of symptom differentiation in early life. Results support a direct effect of ADHD PGS on differentiation toward behavioural difficulties, independent of individuals’ total burden of symptoms. PGS for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder differentially associates with the development of emotional and behavioural difficulties in early childhood. This research may help refine risk predictions in child psychiatry, an important step to enable early prevention.

• Torvik, Fartein Ask (2022). Skolegang, psykisk helse og utenforskap med fokus på gutter. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Torvik, Fartein Ask (2022). Er mannen i krise? Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Torvik, Fartein Ask (2022). Ulikhet i skoleprestasjoner: – Veldig vanskelig å forklare bort kjønn. [Journal]. Morgenbladet. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Flatø, Martin (2022). Menns helse og utenforskap. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Wörn, Jonathan (2022). School performance and family formation in early adulthood. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Torvik, Fartein Ask (2022). Hvem får ADHD og hvordan er livet med bokstavene? [Radio]. Morgenbladets forskningspodkast. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Sunde, Hans Fredrik (2022). LL-444: Livepodkast fra Lærerkonferansen 2022 om ADHD og skolen. [Radio]. Lektor Lomsdalens Innfall. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Sunde, Hans Fredrik (2022). ADHD og skoleprestasjoner - På tvers av kjønn, sosial bakgrunn, og skolefag. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Kinge, Jonas Minet & Flatø, Martin (2022). Helseforskjeller starter i barndommen. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Sunde, Hans Fredrik (2022). CAMHS around the Campfire journal club – ADHD deficit in school performance across sex and parental education. [Internet]. https://www.acamh.org/event/camhs-campfire-adhd-deficit-scho. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Sunde, Hans Fredrik (2022). ADHD og skoleprestasjoner: På tvers av kjønn, sosial bakgrunn, og skolefag. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Torvik, Fartein Ask (2021). Tidlig pubertet, bedre på skolen. Ekko/Nyhetsmorgen. [Radio]. NRK P2. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Torvik, Fartein Ask (2021). Om kjønnsforskjeller i skolen. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2021). Longitudinal data for gender, education and health. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2021). Debatt om gutter, frafall og lesing. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Flatø, Martin (2021). Kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Torvik, Fartein Ask; Flatø, Martin & Stoltenberg, Camilla (2021). Det bør vekke bekymring at gutter gjør det dårligere i skolen. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Kinge, Jonas Minet; Flatø, Martin & Torvik, Fartein Ask (2021). Mennene alle glemte. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Torvik, Fartein Ask (2020). Foreldrenes utdanningsnivå påvirker barnas psykiske helse. [Internet]. fhi.no. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Torvik, Fartein Ask (2020). Foreldrenes utdanningnivå påvirker om barn får ADHD-symptomer. [Radio]. P4. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Torvik, Fartein Ask (2020). Gir hjerneforskning svaret på hvorfor jenter er flinkere på skolen enn gutter? [Internet]. forskning.no. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Flatø, Martin; Torvik, Fartein Ask & Stoltenberg, Camilla (2020). Gode utdanningsvalg krever modenhet og muligheter. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Torvik, Fartein Ask; Eilertsen, Espen Moen; Hannigan, Laurie John; Havdahl, Alexandra & Ystrøm, Eivind (2020). Assortative mating and the usefulness of polygenic scores in extended pedigrees. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Flatø, Martin; Stoltenberg, Camilla & Torvik, Fartein Ask (2020). Lite fleksibelt fra Lied-utvalget. Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.). Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Torvik, Fartein Ask (2020). Nyhetene 08:00. [TV]. TV2 Nyhetskanalen. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Flatø, Martin & Torvik, Fartein Ask (2020). Uriktige påstander om inntaksmodeller. Bedre Skole. s. 94–95. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Flatø, Martin; Stoltenberg, Camilla & Torvik, Fartein Ask (2020). Barn fortjener bedre personvern og mer kunnskap. Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.). s. 39–40. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Flatø, Martin (2020). Karakterprogresjon i ungdomsskolen – et mer rettferdig inntakskriterium. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Fretheim, Atle & Flatø, Martin (2020). Smitteeffekter når smittevernet randomiseres. www.tidsskriftet.no. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Flatø, Martin; Torvik, Fartein Ask & Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Unyansert fra NRK om kjønnsforskjeller i skolen. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Torvik, Fartein Ask; Eilertsen, Espen Moen; Ask, Helga; Gustavson, Kristin; McAdams, Tom A. & Ystrom, Eivind (2019). Intergenerational Associations between Parental Socioneconomic Status and Child ADHD. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Stoltenbergutvalget: Ekspertutvalget om kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Stoltenbergutvalget: Ekspertutvalget om kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Stoltenbergutvalget: Ekspertutvalget om kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Stoltenbergutvalget: Ekspertutvalget om kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). National Commission on Gender Equality in Education. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). National Commission on Gender Equality in Education. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Stoltenbergutvalget: Ekspertutvalget om kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Stoltenbergutvalget: Ekspertutvalget om kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Stoltenbergutvalget: Ekspertutvalget om kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Torvik, Fartein Ask; Eilertsen, Espen Moen; Ask, Helga; Gustavson, Kristin; McAdams, Tom A. & Ystrøm, Eivind (2019). Mechanisms linking parental education with symptoms of ADHD and depression in children. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Stoltenbergutvalget: Ekspertutvalget om kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Stoltenbergutvalget: Ekspertutvalget om kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Stoltenbergutvalget: Ekspertutvalget om kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Stoltenbergutvalget: Ekspertutvalget om kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Stoltenbergutvalget: Ekspertutvalget om kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Stoltenbergutvalget: Ekspertutvalget om kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Stoltenbergutvalget: Ekspertutvalget om kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Stoltenbergutvalget: Ekspertutvalget om kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Stoltenbergutvalget: Ekspertutvalget om kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Flatø, Martin; Solli, Ingeborg Caroline Foldøy; Stoltenberg, Camilla & Torvik, Fartein Ask (2019). Progresjonsbasert opptak - et mer rettferdig inntakssystem. Bedre Skole. s. 10–15. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  I Oslo og flere andre fylker er det debatt om inntakssystemet til videregående skole. Et inntakssystem som baserer seg på karakterprogresjon i stedet for karakterer, vil kunne redusere sosiale forskjeller og gi økt valgfrihet til elever som i dag faller ut av videregående opplæring.

• Flatø, Martin & Lomsdalen, Christian (2019). Martin Flatø om inntak til videregående. [Internet]. Lektor Lomsdalens innfall (podcast). Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Hvordan skal vi sikre at elevene får like muligheter til å velge den videregående skolen de ønsker og hva skal vi ha som kriterier? Finnes det alternativer ut over karakterbasert inntak og nærskoleprinsippet? Hva vil sikre mest rettferdige ordninger? Hvordan hindrer vi egentlig segregering i «skolemarkedet» på et sted? Jeg snakker med Martin Flatø, forsker ved Folkehelseinstituttet og tidligere sekretær for Stoltenbergutvalget om den inntaksmodellen de kom frem til i sitt arbeid.

• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Stoltenbergutvalget: Ekspertutvalget om kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Stoltenbergutvalget: Ekspertutvalget om kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Stoltenbergutvalget: Ekspertutvalget om kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Stoltenbergutvalget: Ekspertutvalget om kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Stoltenbergutvalget: Ekspertutvalget om kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Stoltenbergutvalget: Ekspertutvalget om kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Overlevering av rapporten fra Stoltenbergutvalget: Ekspertutvalget om kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Stoltenbergutvalget: Ekspertutvalget om kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Stoltenbergutvalget: Ekspertutvalget om kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Torvik, Fartein Ask (2019). Henriette skjulte turene til psykolog. - Jeg var så redd for å bli stemplet. [Internet]. Nettavisen.no. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Stoltenbergutvalget: Ekspertutvalget om kjønnsforskjeller i skoleprestasjoner. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv

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