Estimation of Age through Handwriting Characteristics in Female Writers

Abstract

Objectives: To study the estimation of age through handwriting Characteristics in Females. Handwriting changes progressively according to the passage of time, these changes depends on various factors: the writing experience, physical and mental health, gender and age. Methods/Statistical Analysis: In the present study 100 handwriting samples from 5 different age groups of females (Indian) from 20 to 60 years and above were collected. The individuals were asked to write London letter on Blank A-4 sheet. The analysis of handwriting samples were done to extract out some specific class and individual characteristics. A coding system is followed for class characteristics to simplify the research. Percentage proportions of the class characteristics were calculated. Findings: Results discussed individually for each group. The class characteristics such as slant, speed, tremors, hesitation marks has varied in percentage for different age groups which is helpful in understanding a fine demarcation between ages of different groups. A probable assessment can be done of age of female writers from the findings of this research. After considering the out puts of this study it can be easily estimated a rough idea about the age of female writers. It would be helpful for document examiner to proceed and take initiative in case related to determination of age in females in forensic question document examination. This research work can also be useful to exclude the innocent one with the help of other corroborative evidences. By analyzing above data it is easy to estimate up to some extent the approximate age of the writer from the handwriting samples. Some characteristics are found to be really valuable and helpful for age determination such as alignment, spacing, hesitation marks, tremor and speed . Application/Improvements: These characteristic of handwriting showed significant correlation with the age of the writer, it can be considered as a corroborative evidence in questioned document and helpful to identify a tentative age of a person.