Education increases well-being, but intelligence can reduce it

In a recent study published in NPJ Mental Health Research, researchers examine the causal relationship between educational attainment, intelligence, and well-being.

Long-term effects of education

Education is essential for acquiring the knowledge, work skills and social skills that together help prepare young people for adulthood. Thus, educational attainment is an important determinant of occupational status, financial security, marital status, and health in later life.

Existing literature supports a causal relationship of educational attainment with smoking, sedentary lifestyle, body mass index (BMI), suicide risk, insomnia, and major depressive disorder. However, a causal relationship between educational attainment and well-being has not been established.

Educational level is highly correlated with many aspects of intelligence, including memory and learning, processing speed, and abstract, verbal, and spatial reasoning. In comparison, observational studies report a negative association between intelligence and well-being after controlling for other factors such as income and parental education.

About the study

In the current study, researchers use a two-sample Mendelian randomization approach to examine the causal and independent associations of educational attainment and intelligence with well-being.

Mendelian randomization methods use genetic data at the summary level to determine potentially causal relationships. In two-sample Mendelian randomization studies, associations between a genetic instrumental variable, otherwise called a predictor variable, and an exposure and outcome are determined from different nonoverlapping samples. In addition, summary-level data are used to obtain an estimate of Mendelian randomization.

The genetic findings were complemented by using long-term observational data to further examine the association between educational attainment and well-being to clarify possible gender differences, nonlinear trends, and moderator effects of intelligence.

Important observations

The results of univariate Mendelian randomization showed a strong causal and bidirectional relationship between educational level and intelligence. The magnitude of this effect was twice as large for educational level on intelligence.

Mendelian randomization analysis revealed a small positive causal effect of educational level on well-being. A causal effect of well-being on educational attainment was also observed.

The current study used a novel genetic tool to identify the causal effects of well-being. This instrument includes four dimensions of well-being: life satisfaction, positive mood, neuroticism, and depressive symptoms, which are collectively called the well-being spectrum.

The current study found a 0.057 increase in well-being for every 3.6 years of schooling. Mendelian randomization analyzes also revealed a causal effect of well-being on intelligence, but no causal effect of intelligence on well-being was observed. The magnitude of this effect was similar to that observed for educational attainment.

Independent causal effects of both educational attainment and intelligence on well-being were found. More specifically, educational attainment was associated with positive affect, whereas intelligence was associated with negative affect.

After controlling for intelligence, there was a positive causal effect of genetic predisposition to higher levels of education on well-being. At the same time, there was a negative effect of intelligence on well-being after controlling for educational level.

Additional analyzes showed an independent association between well-being and educational attainment after controlling for intelligence. Similarly, an independent association was found between intelligence and educational attainment after controlling for well-being.

Long-term observational data

Observational data were collected from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a prospective cohort study conducted in the UK. There were no significant differences in happiness ratings between participants with and without a university education. However, participants with a university education had significantly higher life satisfaction scores.

These observations suggest that higher levels of education, defined as having at least a university degree, do not predict subjective happiness, but may predict increased life satisfaction.

Women with a university education had significantly higher life satisfaction compared to those without a university education, but this effect was less pronounced among men with and without a university education. While women with a university education experienced higher subjective happiness, men with a university education experienced lower subjective happiness.

Increased intelligence correlated with a decrease in subjective happiness and an increase in life satisfaction. Comparisons by gender showed that men with lower IQ scores had higher subjective happiness.

Significance of the study

The current study combines genetic and observational data to identify causal links between educational attainment, intelligence, and well-being. The results revealed a bidirectional causal relationship between educational level and well-being, with well-being having a stronger effect on educational level.

The negative impact of intelligence on well-being indicates that highly intelligent students are at greater risk of experiencing academic stress, and additional well-being supports are needed to relieve this stress.