Children who grow up in disadvantaged households may receive fewer social benefits from their intelligence in adulthood than those raised in more advantaged environments, according to new research from the University of Bath.

A new study by Professor Chris Dawson, published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, finds that childhood disadvantage is linked not only to lower cognitive ability in adulthood, but also to lower levels of trust in other people.

The research suggests that intelligence does not deliver the same social advantages for everyone. Among people from more advantaged backgrounds, higher cognitive ability was strongly associated with greater trust in others. Among those who experienced childhood disadvantage, the same cognitive ability had only around half the effect.

Professor Dawson, from the University’s School of Management, said: “We often assume that intelligence leads to positive social outcomes in the same way for everyone but these findings challenge that idea.

“People who grow up in difficult environments not only develop lower cognitive skills, but also those skills appear less likely to translate into trust and the wider benefits that come with it.

“This matters, because trust helps people build relationships, succeed in organisations, and participate in society. If early disadvantage suppresses those benefits, it may reinforce inequality across generations.”

The findings are consistent with a broader ‘Matthew Effect’, where people with greater early-life advantages not only develop stronger skills, but also gain more benefit from those skills throughout life.

The study analysed data from more than 24,000 people across the UK to examine how childhood environments shape both cognitive development and social attitudes later in life.

Childhood disadvantage included factors such as living in workless households, growing up in single parent households or care settings, and parents with low educational qualifications, or lower occupational status. Those who experienced two or more forms of disadvantage were significantly less likely to trust others as adults.

Previous research consistently shows that people with higher cognitive ability tend to be more trusting and cooperative. One explanation is that they are better able to recognise that trust is likely to pay off socially and economically, and more able to override instinctive distrust or fear in uncertain situations.

“In stable and supportive environments, people with higher cognitive ability may be more likely to learn that trust is a socially rewarded and adaptive strategy - that cooperating with others often pays off,” said Professor Dawson.

“But in harsher environments, where individuals are more likely to experience instability, crime, or unreliable institutions, there may be fewer opportunities to learn that trust is beneficial or rewarded.

“In those environments, intelligence may simply have fewer opportunities to translate into trust. Early adversity may also leave lasting effects of stress and anxiety that limit how cognitive abilities are expressed in social life.”

Research has shown trust to be one of the key foundations of successful societies, economic prosperity, lower crime, and social cooperation.

The study also found evidence of similar patterns internationally. In high-income countries, cognitive ability was strongly associated with trust, while in lower-income countries the relationship was substantially weaker.

The new findings suggest childhood conditions may play a much bigger role in shaping these outcomes than previously understood.

The study argues that tackling inequality should not focus only on educational attainment or income, but also on the emotional and social environments children grow up in.

“If we want to improve life chances, we need to think beyond academic skills. Stable, secure and supportive childhood environments may be just as important in helping people realise their potential,” said Professor Dawson.

What Childhood Leaves Behind: Cognitive Ability and Trust in Adulthood is published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin and is available at https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672261439412