5 Child Traits Genetically Inherited from Parents
Who do you look up to in life? Are your traits shaped purely by life experience, or were they written in your blood from birth, passed down by your parents? The largest study in history on the relationship between genes and personality has finally provided the answer.
It turns out that some of our traits are inherited from birth. However, the environment still plays a far greater role, according to a report in the journal Nature on Monday (7/9/2026).
Researchers from Michigan State University and research institutions around the world analysed data from up to 1.14 million people of European and African descent. From a study of this scale, they successfully identified 1,260 points in the human genome proven to be directly linked to personality.
Most of these 1,260 genetic markers were discovered for the first time, their number many times greater than in previous studies.
Five Key Traits Passed Down Through Genes
Scientifically, human personality is grouped into five main traits known as the ‘Big Five’. All five of these traits, it turns out, leave traces in the genetic make-up inherited from parents:
Sociability and Confidence: how easily a person mixes with others, shows enthusiasm, and presents themselves in front of other people
Helpfulness and Trust in Others: the extent of a person’s compassion, respect, and trust in others
Orderliness and Responsibility: how diligent, tidy, and reliable a person is in completing tasks
Anxiety and Emotional Volatility: how easily a person feels restless, sad, or angry
Openness and Imagination: the extent of a person’s curiosity, creativity, and interest in new things
This means that the five fundamental traits that shape who you are are partly written into the make-up of the body you inherited at birth.
Traits Shaped by Both Genes and Environment
The most important finding concerns the scale of genetic influence. Of all the differences in traits observed between people, the genes identified explain only 5 to 9 per cent. Even when calculated comprehensively, including estimated undetected variations, the maximum influence of all genes is only around 13 to 16 per cent.
The remainder — roughly 84 per cent — is formed by life experience, upbringing, the environment one lives in, education, social circles, and everything experienced from birth to the present day.
“This means that although parents pass on basic traits to their children, the environment and life experiences remain far greater shapers of personality,” said Ted Schwaba, the study’s lead researcher from Michigan State University. “We are not merely the product of genetic inheritance. We are the product of what we experience.”
The researchers also stressed one important point: the influence of each individual gene is very small and scattered across thousands of different locations. This means it is impossible to predict a person’s traits simply by looking at their parents’ genes or the child’s own genes.
There is no single gene that means ‘the shyness gene’ or ‘the bravery gene’. A person’s character is formed from a combination of thousands of small markers interacting with one another, and then with the living environment that shapes them throughout their formative years.
The researchers also found that a person’s personality influences the course of their life. Traits inherited from parents affect body weight, smoking habits, and even the risk of contracting certain illnesses. Conversely, experiences such as educational attainment also change a person’s personality over time.
In other words, genes provide a starting point, but it is the life we lead that ultimately determines who we become.