2026-05-14 バース大学
Childhood disadvantage is linked not only to lower cognitive ability in adulthood, but also to lower levels of trust in other people.
＜関連情報＞
- https://www.bath.ac.uk/announcements/childhood-disadvantage-can-limit-the-social-benefits-of-intelligence-later-in-life/
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01461672261439412
子供時代が残すもの：成人期の認知能力と信頼 What Childhood Leaves Behind: Cognitive Ability and Trust in Adulthood
Chris Dawson
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin Published:May 9, 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672261439412
Abstract
This article challenges the idea that cognitive ability uniformly predicts prosocial traits. Using data from a large, nationally representative U.K. sample (N = 24,140), we test a moderated mediation model in which childhood disadvantage is associated with generalized trust both directly and indirectly via cognitive ability, while also moderating the association between cognitive ability and trust. We find that childhood disadvantage is associated with lower cognitive ability—measured across memory, verbal fluency, fluid reasoning, and numerical reasoning—and with lower generalized trust in adulthood. We also find that cognitive ability is positively associated with generalized trust; however, this relationship is significantly attenuated among those who experienced childhood disadvantage. These results persist after adjusting for current socioeconomic factors. The pattern whereby early-life disadvantaged environments are associated with differences in cognitive development and with constrained social returns to cognitive ability is likely to reinforce social immobility.
