Felix C Tropf
Biographic Data
| ID | 256873 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Felix C Tropf |
| GIVEN NAMES | Felix C |
| FAMILY NAME | Tropf |
| SIGNATURE | TROPF F C |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Oxford |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2445-515X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 99 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 13 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2015 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
No evidence of positive causal effects of maternal and paternal age at first birth on children's test scores at age 10 years
Research has shown that higher maternal and paternal age is positively associated with children's education. Debate continues as to whether these relationships are causal. This is of great interest given the postponement of first births in almost all developed countries during the twentieth century. Here we use an instrumental variable approach (Mendelian randomization) using maternal and paternal polygenic indices (PGIs) for age at first birth-w…
Socio-economic status is a social construct with heritable components and genetic consequences
Mind the gap
This article expands on previous research on gene-environment (GxE) effects on socio-economic status, by stepping beyond the family dimension and exploring how the neighbourhood context interacts with education linked genes in influencing educational achievement. While some evidence suggests that genetic links to education are more fully expressed in high socio-economic status families, other findings indicate that individuals with lower genetic …
Genome-wide analysis identifies genetic effects on reproductive success and ongoing natural selection at the Fads locus
Identification of 371 genetic variants for age at first sex and birth linked to externalising behaviour
Sociology, Genetics, and the Coming of Age of Sociogenomics
Recent years have seen the birth of sociogenomics via the infusion of molecular genetic data. We chronicle the history of genetics, focusing particularly on post-2005 genome-wide association studies, the post-2015 big data era, and the emergence of polygenic scores. We argue that understanding polygenic scores, including their genetic correlations with each other, causation, and underlying biological architecture, is vital. We show how genetics c…
Using Polygenic Scores in Social Science Research
Biological, genetic, and socio-demographic factors are all important in explaining reproductive behavior, yet these factors are typically studied in isolation. In this study, we explore an innovative sociogenomic approach, which entails including key socio-demographic (marriage, education, occupation, religion, cohort) and genetic factors related to both behavioral [age at first birth (AFB), number of children ever born (NEB)] and biological fecu…
The relationship between cognitive decline and a genetic predictor of educational attainment
Genetic and environmental factors both make substantial contributions to the heterogeneity in individuals' levels of cognitive ability. Many studies have examined the relationship between educational attainment and cognitive performance and its rate of change. Yet there remains a gap in knowledge regarding whether the effect of genetic predictors on individual differences in cognition becomes more or less prominent over the life course. In this a…
SNP‐Based Heritability Estimates of Common and Specific Variance in Self‐ and Informant‐Reported Neuroticism Scales
OBJECTIVE: Our study aims to estimate the proportion of the phenotypic variance of Neuroticism and its facet scales that can be attributed to common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in two adult populations from Estonia (EGCUT; N = 3,292) and the Netherlands (Lifelines; N = 13,383). METHOD: Genomic-relatedness-matrix restricted maximum likelihood (GREML) using genome-wide complex trait analysis (GCTA) software was employed. To build upon pr…
Is the Association Between Education and Fertility Postponement Causal? The Role of Family Background Factors
A large body of literature has demonstrated a positive relationship between education and age at first birth. However, this relationship may be partly spurious because of family background factors that cannot be controlled for in most research designs. We investigate the extent to which education is causally related to later age at first birth in a large sample of female twins from the United Kingdom (N = 2,752). We present novel estimates using …
Hidden heritability due to heterogeneity across seven populations
Meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies, which dominate genetic discovery, are based on data from diverse historical time periods and populations. Genetic scores derived from genome-wide association studies explain only a fraction of the heritability estimates obtained from whole-genome studies on single populations, known as the ‘hidden heritability’ puzzle. Using seven sampling populations (n = 35,062), we test whether hidden heritabil…
The Biodemography of Fertility
The social sciences have been reticent to integrate a biodemographic approach to the study of fertility choice and behaviour, resulting in theories and findings that are largely socially-deterministic. The aim of this paper is to first reflect on reasons for this lack of integration, provide a review of previous examinations, take stock of what we have learned until now and propose future research frontiers. We review the early foundations of pro…
Genetic influence on age at first birth of female twins born in the UK, 1919-68
Using a sample of monozygotic (945, 42 per cent) and dizygotic (1,329, 58 per cent) twin pairs born 1919-68 in the UK, we applied innovative tobit models to investigate genetic and environmental influences on age at first birth (AFB). We found that a substantial part (40 per cent) of the variation in AFB is caused by latent family characteristics. Genetic dispositions (26 per cent) play a more important role than the shared environment of sibling…
Sociology, Genetics, and the Coming of Age of Sociogenomics
Recent years have seen the birth of sociogenomics via the infusion of molecular genetic data. We chronicle the history of genetics, focusing particularly on post-2005 genome-wide association studies, the post-2015 big data era, and the emergence of polygenic scores. We argue that understanding polygenic scores, including their genetic correlations with each other, causation, and underlying biological architecture, is vital. We show how genetics c…
Hidden heritability due to heterogeneity across seven populations
Meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies, which dominate genetic discovery, are based on data from diverse historical time periods and populations. Genetic scores derived from genome-wide association studies explain only a fraction of the heritability estimates obtained from whole-genome studies on single populations, known as the ‘hidden heritability’ puzzle. Using seven sampling populations (n = 35,062), we test whether hidden heritabil…
Is the Association Between Education and Fertility Postponement Causal? The Role of Family Background Factors
A large body of literature has demonstrated a positive relationship between education and age at first birth. However, this relationship may be partly spurious because of family background factors that cannot be controlled for in most research designs. We investigate the extent to which education is causally related to later age at first birth in a large sample of female twins from the United Kingdom (N = 2,752). We present novel estimates using …
Identification of 371 genetic variants for age at first sex and birth linked to externalising behaviour
Genetic influence on age at first birth of female twins born in the UK, 1919-68
Using a sample of monozygotic (945, 42 per cent) and dizygotic (1,329, 58 per cent) twin pairs born 1919-68 in the UK, we applied innovative tobit models to investigate genetic and environmental influences on age at first birth (AFB). We found that a substantial part (40 per cent) of the variation in AFB is caused by latent family characteristics. Genetic dispositions (26 per cent) play a more important role than the shared environment of sibling…
The relationship between cognitive decline and a genetic predictor of educational attainment
Genetic and environmental factors both make substantial contributions to the heterogeneity in individuals' levels of cognitive ability. Many studies have examined the relationship between educational attainment and cognitive performance and its rate of change. Yet there remains a gap in knowledge regarding whether the effect of genetic predictors on individual differences in cognition becomes more or less prominent over the life course. In this a…
Genome-wide analysis identifies genetic effects on reproductive success and ongoing natural selection at the Fads locus
Mind the gap
This article expands on previous research on gene-environment (GxE) effects on socio-economic status, by stepping beyond the family dimension and exploring how the neighbourhood context interacts with education linked genes in influencing educational achievement. While some evidence suggests that genetic links to education are more fully expressed in high socio-economic status families, other findings indicate that individuals with lower genetic …
The Biodemography of Fertility
The social sciences have been reticent to integrate a biodemographic approach to the study of fertility choice and behaviour, resulting in theories and findings that are largely socially-deterministic. The aim of this paper is to first reflect on reasons for this lack of integration, provide a review of previous examinations, take stock of what we have learned until now and propose future research frontiers. We review the early foundations of pro…
Genetic influence on age at first birth of female twins born in the UK, 1919-68
Using a sample of monozygotic (945, 42 per cent) and dizygotic (1,329, 58 per cent) twin pairs born 1919-68 in the UK, we applied innovative tobit models to investigate genetic and environmental influences on age at first birth (AFB). We found that a substantial part (40 per cent) of the variation in AFB is caused by latent family characteristics. Genetic dispositions (26 per cent) play a more important role than the shared environment of sibling…
SNP‐Based Heritability Estimates of Common and Specific Variance in Self‐ and Informant‐Reported Neuroticism Scales
OBJECTIVE: Our study aims to estimate the proportion of the phenotypic variance of Neuroticism and its facet scales that can be attributed to common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in two adult populations from Estonia (EGCUT; N = 3,292) and the Netherlands (Lifelines; N = 13,383). METHOD: Genomic-relatedness-matrix restricted maximum likelihood (GREML) using genome-wide complex trait analysis (GCTA) software was employed. To build upon pr…
Is the Association Between Education and Fertility Postponement Causal? The Role of Family Background Factors
A large body of literature has demonstrated a positive relationship between education and age at first birth. However, this relationship may be partly spurious because of family background factors that cannot be controlled for in most research designs. We investigate the extent to which education is causally related to later age at first birth in a large sample of female twins from the United Kingdom (N = 2,752). We present novel estimates using …
Hidden heritability due to heterogeneity across seven populations
Meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies, which dominate genetic discovery, are based on data from diverse historical time periods and populations. Genetic scores derived from genome-wide association studies explain only a fraction of the heritability estimates obtained from whole-genome studies on single populations, known as the ‘hidden heritability’ puzzle. Using seven sampling populations (n = 35,062), we test whether hidden heritabil…
Using Polygenic Scores in Social Science Research
Biological, genetic, and socio-demographic factors are all important in explaining reproductive behavior, yet these factors are typically studied in isolation. In this study, we explore an innovative sociogenomic approach, which entails including key socio-demographic (marriage, education, occupation, religion, cohort) and genetic factors related to both behavioral [age at first birth (AFB), number of children ever born (NEB)] and biological fecu…
The relationship between cognitive decline and a genetic predictor of educational attainment
Genetic and environmental factors both make substantial contributions to the heterogeneity in individuals' levels of cognitive ability. Many studies have examined the relationship between educational attainment and cognitive performance and its rate of change. Yet there remains a gap in knowledge regarding whether the effect of genetic predictors on individual differences in cognition becomes more or less prominent over the life course. In this a…
Sociology, Genetics, and the Coming of Age of Sociogenomics
Recent years have seen the birth of sociogenomics via the infusion of molecular genetic data. We chronicle the history of genetics, focusing particularly on post-2005 genome-wide association studies, the post-2015 big data era, and the emergence of polygenic scores. We argue that understanding polygenic scores, including their genetic correlations with each other, causation, and underlying biological architecture, is vital. We show how genetics c…
Identification of 371 genetic variants for age at first sex and birth linked to externalising behaviour
Genome-wide analysis identifies genetic effects on reproductive success and ongoing natural selection at the Fads locus
No evidence of positive causal effects of maternal and paternal age at first birth on children's test scores at age 10 years
Research has shown that higher maternal and paternal age is positively associated with children's education. Debate continues as to whether these relationships are causal. This is of great interest given the postponement of first births in almost all developed countries during the twentieth century. Here we use an instrumental variable approach (Mendelian randomization) using maternal and paternal polygenic indices (PGIs) for age at first birth-w…
Socio-economic status is a social construct with heritable components and genetic consequences
Mind the gap
This article expands on previous research on gene-environment (GxE) effects on socio-economic status, by stepping beyond the family dimension and exploring how the neighbourhood context interacts with education linked genes in influencing educational achievement. While some evidence suggests that genetic links to education are more fully expressed in high socio-economic status families, other findings indicate that individuals with lower genetic …
Biology (9 works) · Demography (8 works) · Sociology (8 works) · Genetics (7 works) · Psychology (7 works) · Genetic Associations and Epidemiology (6 works) · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences (5 works) · Evolutionary biology (5 works) · Population (5 works) · Birth, Development, and Health (4 works)