PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Melinda C. Mills
AU  - Nicola Barban
AU  - Felix C. Tropf
TI  - The Sociogenomics of Polygenic Scores of Reproductive Behavior and Their Relationship to Other Fertility Traits
AID  - 10.7758/RSF.2018.4.4.07
DP  - 2018 Apr 01
TA  - RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
PG  - 122--136
VI  - 4
IP  - 4
4099  - http://www.rsfjournal.org/content/4/4/122.short
4100  - http://www.rsfjournal.org/content/4/4/122.full
AB  - Human reproductive behavior until relatively recently has been explained exclusively via individual and social characteristics. This article applies results from a recent Genome-Wide Association Study that combined sixty-two data sources to isolate twelve genetic loci associated with reproductive behavior. We create polygenic scores that allow us to include a summary variable of genetic factors into our statistical models. We use four datasets: the U.S. Health and Retirement Study, Dutch LifeLines, TwinsUK and the Swedish Twin register. First, we provide a brief overview of the dominant explanations of reproductive behavior. Second, we test the predictive power of polygenic scores. Third, we interrogate the robustness of our models using a series of sensitivity analyses to take into account possible confounders due to population stratification and selection.