Mind the gap: Multigenerational family effects on cognitive abilities

Parental socioeconomic status (SES) is a powerful predictor of children's cognitive development, but little is known about whether its influence extends beyond the parent–child link to span multiple generations. Using unique multigenerational data from the Zurich Longitudinal Studies (ZLS), we trace how parental and grandparental SES shape children's standardized cognitive abilities from early childhood through adolescence. We find that gaps by parental SES emerge early and remain largely stable into adolescence. In contrast, once parental SES is accounted for, grandparental SES shows no additional statistically significant association with children's cognitive abilities at any age. These findings provide new evidence that the impact of family socioeconomic background on cognitive development attenuates across generations. • We study how family SES shapes cognitive abilities from childhood to adolescence • We implement a novel 3-generational design using data from the Zurich Longitudinal Studies • Cognitive gaps by parental SES emerge early and remain stable throughout development • Grandparental SES shows no additional statistically significant effect, indicating no enduring dynastic influences