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Education increases well-being, but intelligence can decrease it
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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In a recent study published in the journal NPJ Mental Health Research, researchers examine the causal relationship between education level, intelligence, and well-being.
Long-term effects of education
Education is essential for acquiring knowledge, work skills, and social skills that together help prepare young people for adulthood. Educational attainment is therefore an important determinant of occupational status, financial security, marital status, and health in later life.
Existing literature supports a causal relationship between educational attainment and smoking, sedentary behavior, 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 attainment is strongly correlated with many aspects of intelligence, including memory and learning, processing speed, and abstract, verbal, and spatial reasoning. In contrast, 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, the researchers use a two-sample Mendelian randomization approach to examine the causal and independent associations of education and intelligence with well-being.
Mendelian randomization methods use genetic data at the pool level to identify potential causal relationships. In two-sample Mendelian randomization studies, associations between a genetic instrumental variable, also called a predictor variable, and the treatment and outcome are determined from different non-overlapping samples. In addition, pool level data are used to derive the Mendelian randomization estimate.
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, non-linear trends, and moderator effects of intelligence.
Important observations
The results of the univariate Mendelian randomization showed a strong causal and bidirectional association between education level and intelligence. The magnitude of this effect was twice as large for education level on intelligence.
Mendelian randomization analysis revealed a small positive causal effect of educational attainment 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 tool includes four well-being traits: life satisfaction, positive mood, neuroticism, and depressive symptoms, which together are called the well-being spectrum.
The current study found an increase in well-being of 0.057 for every 3.6 years of schooling. Mendelian randomization analysis also found a causal effect of well-being on intelligence, but no causal effect of intelligence on well-being. The magnitude of this effect was similar to that observed for educational attainment.
Independent causal effects of both education and intelligence on well-being were found. Specifically, education was associated with positive effects, while intelligence was associated with negative effects.
After controlling for intelligence, there was a positive causal effect of genetic predisposition to higher levels of education on well-being. However, there was a negative effect of intelligence on well-being after controlling for educational attainment.
Additional analyses 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 scores between participants with and without a university degree. However, participants with a university degree 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, although this effect was less pronounced among men with and without a university education. While women with a university education reported higher subjective happiness, men with a university education reported lower subjective happiness.
Increased intelligence was associated with decreased subjective happiness and increased life satisfaction. Gender comparisons showed that men with lower intelligence scores had higher subjective happiness.
Significance of the study
The current study combines genetic and observational data to determine causal relationships between educational attainment, intelligence, and well-being. The results revealed a bidirectional causal relationship between educational attainment and well-being, with well-being having a stronger effect on educational attainment.
The negative impact of intelligence on well-being suggests that highly intelligent students are at greater risk of experiencing academic stress and that additional well-being support is needed to alleviate this stress.