The association of early life stress with IQ-achievement discrepancy in children: A population-based study

Abstract

Early life stress (ELS) is associated with lower IQ and academic achievement; however, it remains unclear whether it additionally explains their discrepancy. In 2,401 children (54% girls, 30.2% migration background) from the population-based study Generation R Study, latent factors of prenatal and postnatal (age 0–10) ELS were estimated, and IQ-achievement discrepancy (age 12) was quantified as variance in academic achievement not explained by IQ. ELS was prospectively associated with larger IQ-achievement discrepancy (βprenatal = −0.24; βpostnatal = −0.28), lower IQ (βprenatal = −0.20; βpostnatal = −0.22), and lower academic achievement (βprenatal = −0.31; βpostnatal = −0.36). Associations were stronger for latent ELS than for specific ELS domains. Results point to ELS as a potential prevention target to improve academic potential.