Are the effects of intelligence on student achievement and well-being largely functions of family income and social class? Evidence from a longitudinal study of Irish adolescents

Abstract

The paper examines the effects of socioeconomic background (SES) - measured by social class, family income and parental education - cognitive ability, and gender on a variety of key outcomes from a large longitudinal study based on a representative sample of thirteen-year-olds. The data analysed comprised 6216 children who participated in waves 1 to 3 of the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) longitudinal survey. The outcome measures drawn from wave 3, when respondents were aged about seventeen, were: examination results and several cognitive measures, life difficulties, and quality of relationships. Three regression models were compared with and without, SES measures (occupational class, household..