Socioeconomic Status as a Predictor of Cognitive and Creative Abilities in Adolescents

Socioeconomic status (SES) strongly influences cognitive development, yet its relationship with creativity remains comparatively underexplored. This study examined how three SES dimensions (family structure, economic status, cultural capital) relate to verbal and figural creativity. 230 middle school students (58.26% girls; grades 7–9) took part in this study. They completed the PIC, TTCT (Figural), DAT-5, and a sociodemographic survey. Seven structural equation models (MLR estimation) and a regularized network analysis (EBICglasso) were estimated. A model specifying a latent SES factor associate with a general cognitive factor (subsuming intelligence and creativity) showed the best fit (χ2 = 1.53, CFI = 0.99, RMSEA = 0.048, SRMR = 0.019). Network analysis revealed that economic SES retained no unique conditional associations with cognitive/creative variables. Conversely, cultural SES is directly linked to verbal intelligence (rpartial = 0.155) and figural creativity (rpartial = 0.205). The sole direct bridge between intelligence and creativity subsystems was non-verbal intelligence to figural creativity (rpartial = 0.112). Therefore, cultural SES emerged as the most consistently relevant SES-related component, showing unique associations with cognitive and creative functioning. These findings highlight the importance of culturally and cognitively stimulating opportunities within families and the potential role of schools in ensuring equitable access to enriched learning and creative experiences.