Handedness In Children Research Articles

Does the Degree and/or Direction of Handedness in Children With Developmental Coordination Disorder Influence Motor and Cognitive Performance? A Pilot Study

Research has shown that nonright-handedness in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is associated with poorer motor and cognitive performance. This study investigated the influence of degree and direction of handedness on performance using the Home Handedness Questionnaire, the Hit-the-Dot test, the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, and the digital Trail-Making Test. Eighteen children with DCD and 21 typically developing children aged 8–12 years participated in this study. The distribution of degree and direction of handedness in the group of DCD children were not different from that found in the typically developing group. In the Hit-the-Dot test, typically developing children significantly performed better than children with DCD, no matter which hand was dominant or to which degree. A significant inconsistent-handed advantage in the subdomain balance was found for children with DCD. Inconsistent handedness also seems to be an advantage for children with DCD on the digital Trail-Making Test performance. The relationship between the subcategories of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children and the digital Trail-Making Test part B is stronger for consistent than for inconsistent handedness. Our findings suggest that children with DCD and inconsistent handedness might benefit from greater crosstalk across hemispheres. In addition, these predispositions can be reinforced or discouraged throughout development and via occupational therapy.

Investigating the effect of handedness on the dental caries pattern, gingival index, and plaque index in 6-10 years old children.

Handedness is one of the individual characteristics that causes different mental and practical capabilities including different abilities to perform oral hygiene instructions. It seems that the right-handed and left-handed individuals have different ability in brushing and removing plaque at different areas of the mouth. To investigate the effect of handedness on decay pattern, gingival index, and plaque index in 6-10 years old children. In this cross-sectional study, children 6-10 years of age who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were selected. Dental caries and plaque and gingival indices were also measured and recorded for each child. Then the relationship between the handedness and the recorded variables was evaluated. Independent t-test and nonparametric Mann-Whitney test were used for the statistical comparison of quantitative variables between two right-handed and left-handed groups and Chi-square test was used for the statistical comparison of qualitative variables between these two groups. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 20. The results showed that there was no significant relationship between any of the variables with being left- or right-handed. A significant relationship was observed only between the lowest plaque index and handedness (P < 0.05). A relationship cannot be considered between the handedness of children and their oral health status.

Handedness in children with autism spectrum disorders

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have a less definitive hand preference for certain actions as opposed to neurotypical children. Moreover, left-handedness in children with ASD has been associated with more echolalia. The objective was to conduct a screening of potential risk and associated features for autism spectrum disorders, among which the hand preference of the child. The current aim is to compare the perceived handedness of children with autism spectrum disorders with that of children with other psychiatric pathologies.MethodsEight hundred and forty-two parents completed our risk and associated features screening questionnaire. Out of these, 494 answered the question regarding handedness (209 had children diagnosed with ASD). This asked the parents to state how they perceived their child's handedness. An ADOS assessment has been conducted for 170 of the children whose parents were included in the study, based on clinical relevance for the case. The data were analysed using Excel and SPSS 22.0. For the comparisons, Chi2 and the Kruskal–Wallis test were used.ResultsChildren with ASD had more left-handedness (χ2(2) = 12.54, P = 0.002). There were no differences between boys and girls in terms of perceived handedness in any of the groups. There were no differences in the ADOS scores according to the perceived hand laterality (χ2(2) = 0.58, P = 0.74).ConclusionRightward-asymmetry in regions of corpus callosum has been reported to correlate with symptoms severity in ASD. The finding of different perceived handedness in children with ASD versus children with other psychiatric pathologies is useful for designing appropriate, individualized training programs for motor therapy.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Handedness in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

The left hemisphere is usually predominant in manual skills and language, suggesting a link between hand dominance and language. Studies of autism spectrum disorder show atypical handedness; however, few have examined language-handedness associations. Handedness, assessed by task performance, and standardized receptive and expressive language tests were completed in 110 autism spectrum disorder children (96 boys; M age = 8.3 years, SD = 3.8) and 45 typically developing children (37 boys; M age = 8.6 years, SD = 4.3), 3 to 17 years of age. The autism spectrum disorder group had a lower handedness score (was less strongly lateralized) than the control group. In the autism spectrum disorder group, there was a small effect of handedness on language; right-handers had better language than non-right-handers. Results suggest poorer language prognosis may be associated with left- or mixed-handedness in autism spectrum disorder.

Hand preference, performance abilities, and hand selection in children

It is widely know that the pattern of human handedness is such that approximately 90% of the population is right handed with the remainder being left handed, at least in the adult population. What is less well understood is how handedness develops and at what age adult-like handedness patterns emerge. Quantified in terms of both preference and performance, a plethora of different behavioral assessments are currently in use with both children and adults. Handedness questionnaires are commonly used; however, these possess inherent limitations, considering their subjective nature. Hand performance measures have also been implemented; however, such tasks appear to measure different components of handedness. In addition to these traditional measures, handedness has been successfully assessed through observation of hand selection in reaching, which has proven to be a unique and effective manner in understanding the development of handedness in children. Research over the past several decades has demonstrated that young children display weak, inconsistent hand preference tendencies and are slower with both hands. Performance differences between the hands are larger for young children, and consistency improves with age. However, there remains some controversy surrounding the age at which hand preference and hand performance abilities can be considered fully developed. The following paper will provide a review of the literature pertaining to hand preference, performance abilities and hand selection in children in an attempt to ascertain the age at which adult-like patterns of hand preference and performance emerge.

Ultrasound in pregnancy and non‐right handedness: meta‐analysis of randomized trials

To study the association between exposure to ultrasound in pregnancy and non-right handedness in children with available data from randomized trials. Follow-up data of 8865 children aged 8-14 years from three randomized trials on routine ultrasonography at 15-20 weeks' gestation were available. Handedness was assessed through questionnaires to the parents and classified according to five, 10 or 11 questions. Children not classified as right handed were regarded as non-right handed. There was a statistically significant increased prevalence of non-right handedness in ultrasonographically screened children compared with controls (odds ratio (OR) 1.15; 95% CI, 1.03-1.29). The results in subgroups according to gender are consistent with the overall results, with no significant differences between boys and girls. Among boys, the association became stronger when an exploratory analysis according to ultrasound exposure before 19-22 weeks' gestation was done (OR 1.30; 95% CI, 1.10-1.53). There is a statistically significant-albeit weak-association between ultrasound screening during pregnancy and being non-right handed later in life.

To Work or Not to Work? Child Development and Maternal Labor Supply

We estimate the effect of early child development on maternal labor force participation. Mothers of poorly developing children may remain at home to care for their children. Alternatively, mothers may enter the labor force to pay for additional educational and health resources. Which action dominates is the empirical question we answer in this paper. We control for the potential endogeneity of child development by using an instrumental variables approach, uniquely exploiting exogenous variation in child development associated with child handedness. We find that a one unit increase in poor child development decreases maternal labor force participation by approximately 10 percentage points. (JEL J13, J16, J22)

Foreign bodies of the ear and nose in children and its correlation with right or left handed children

Foreign bodies (FB) of the ear and nose are common findings in the pediatric population. The objective of this project is to present our experience of cases presented to our department and to correlate the insertion of the FB in relation to the child's handedness. This project was carried out at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery of "Aghia Sophia" Children's Hospital (Athens, Greece), between December 2007 and August 2008. Data collected includes age and sex of the child, time elapsed between the insertion of the FB and its removal, type of FB, site of insertion, description of the child's handedness, conditions of removal and complications. 46 FB were removed from the nasal cavities. On the right nasal cavity, 29/31 (93.55%) children were right handed and 2/31 (6.45%) were left handed. On the left nasal cavity, 11/14 (78.57%) were right handed and 3/14 (21.43%) children were left handed. One right handed child had a FB in both nasal cavities. 44 FB were removed from the ear (external auditory canal: EAC), 30 (68.18%) from the right EAC and 14 (31.82%) from the left. On the right EAC, 28/30 (93.33%) children were right handed and 2/30 (6.67%) were left handed. Children with FB of the left EAC were 9/14 (64.29%) right handed and 5/14 (35.71%) left handed. Children insert FB into their nasal cavities randomly (P=0.308). As a result, there is no correlation with the child's handedness and right/left nasal cavities FB insertion. On the other hand, children do insert FB into their right/left EAC according whether they are right/left handed (P=0.014). Consequently, right handed children insert FB into their right EAC and left handed children into their left EAC.

An Observational Method of Assessing Handedness in Children and Adults

The current study was performed to assess the WatHand Cabinet Test (WHCT), a newly developed multidimensional observational test of handedness. Because the test is observational, it is ideal for assessing children, as it does not require a high degree of verbal comprehension on the part of the participants. 548 individuals participated in the present study on a voluntary basis. Individuals of varying ages were examined (including 3 to 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11-year-olds, and 19-to 24-year-olds). Each participant was asked to complete the WHCT, the Annett Pegboard (Annett, 1985), and the Waterloo Handedness Questionnaire (WHQ) (M.P. Bryden, 1977). Overall, the total score on the WHCT was significantly correlated with both the WHQ, r =.795, p < .01, and the Annett Pegboard, r = .542, p < .01. Sub-scores measuring skilled performance, bimanual performance, and internal consistency were also examined, as well as performance on the three tests as a function of age. Overall, findings indicate that that the WHCT is a valid test of hand preference in both children and adults. Its ease of use, quick administration, and built-in quantitative sub-scores offer a robust alternative method for measuring hand preference.

Handedness in Children of Schizophrenic Parents: Data from Three High-risk Studies

This is the first report of data analyses from a consortium of longitudinal genetic-risk studies on offspring of schizophrenic parents (CLOSSER) who were followed from birth or mid-childhood to their early 20's or considerably older ages. Three of the CLOSSER studies provide data to enable us to address long-persisting questions in the schizophrenia literature concerning possible atypicality of hand dominance associated with the illness. Handedness, used as a proxy for cerebral lateralization, is a topic of considerable importance because of its potential to reveal mechanisms in the underlying pathophysiology of schizophrenia. We examine agreement among the CLOSSER studies with respect to possible deviance in handedness in subjects with schizophrenic parents (high-risk individuals) and specifically in those who have gone on to develop adult schizophrenia, compared with other subjects of these studies. Possible developmental delay in age at lateralization is also considered.

Antenatal maternal anxiety is linked with atypical handedness in the child

Background Animal studies have shown that prenatal stress is linked with altered laterality in the offspring. Aims The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that antenatal maternal anxiety was associated with altered lateralisation in children, as demonstrated by mixed handedness. Study design and subjects We used the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a prospective longitudinal study that has followed women since pregnancy. The final analysis included data on 7431 mother–child pairs. Maternal anxiety was measured at 18- and 32-week gestation and 8 weeks postnatally using a self-report inventory. Child handedness was assessed at 42 months using an established maternal report scale. Information on maternal and paternal handedness, as well as data on possible confounding variables such as obstetric and antenatal risks, were also assessed. Results Univariable analysis showed that antenatal anxiety at 18 weeks was associated with mixed-handedness in the child, OR=1.28 (95% CI 1.09–1.50, p<0.01). Although boys were more likely than girls to be mixed handed, the link with antenatal anxiety was similar. There was no significant association with antenatal anxiety at 32 weeks. Multivariable analyses indicated that maternal anxiety at 18 weeks of pregnancy predicted an increased likelihood of mixed-handedness in the child (OR=1.23, 95% CI 1.02–1.48, p<0.05), independently of parental handedness, obstetric and other antenatal risks, and postnatal anxiety. Conclusion This result provides further evidence for a link between antenatal anxiety and fetal programming in humans.

What to do About Your Child's Handedness? Advice from Five Eighteenth-century Authors, and Some Questions for Today

On the question “What to do about your child's handedness?”, parents have never lacked for advice. Over more than two millennia, however, their advisors have rarely spoken with one voice. Instead, they have disagreed on virtually everything, including the desirability of handedness, its origins in nature or nurture, and especially the acceptability and treatment of left-handedness. After briefly describing such disagreements from classical times, this article presents and analyses new examples from the works of five authors in the eighteenth century, three from England (“An Eminent Physician”, William Cadogan, and John Hill) and two from France (Nicholas Andry and Jean-Jacques Rousseau). It then presents similar examples from more recent authors, and it concludes by asking what advice about handedness the current generation of laterality researchers would be prepared to offer.

Unimanual and bimanual tasks and the assessment of handedness in toddlers

The goal of this study was to examine the relations between three different measures of handedness: unimanual reaching, bimanual manipulation and unimanual manipulation. The appropriateness of the task chosen to evaluate handedness was also explored by contrasting different bimanual manipulation tasks for the more or less differentiated (passive\active) roles assigned to each hand. Forty children, between 18 and 36 months of age, were tested in the three conditions. The results show that the degree of bimanual handedness is greater on the bimanual tasks with a strong role differentiation than on the tasks with less differentiation. Bimanual tasks with a strong role differentiation elicited more right‐handedness than unimanual reaching. Among the children who showed handedness in reaching, the correlation between unimanual and bimanual handedness was high, especially for right‐handers. For some tasks, bimanual handedness appeared at the earliest age studied here (18 months), and there was little relationship between bimanual handedness and bimanual skill. In contrast with unimanual reaching, there was no age‐related change in the degree of handedness for either bimanual or unimanual manipulation. There was a bias toward the use of the right hand for unimanual manipulation. It was concluded that grasping is not the best task to employ to look for robust evidence of handedness, and that bimanual tasks offer a better way to estimate handedness in children, as long as the tasks are carefully chosen.

Motor Performance and Handedness in Children with Developmental Language Disorder

Developmental language disorder (DLD) is diagnosed when there is a failure of normal language development in a child with normal nonverbal intelligence. The discussion about additional or causal deficits is controversial. In this study a computer-based motor performance series with a tapping, aiming and pegboard movement task and an additional paper-pencil handedness test were applied to a group of children with DLD of the phonologic-syntactic subtype and with normal nonverbal intelligence to describe the additional motor problems. Furthermore we examined whether our DLD children showed a different handedness. Tapping and pegboard with both hands were significantly impaired in our DLD children. Overall our DLD children did not show a different handedness than the control group.

General Motor Proficiency and Handedness in Children

Recent investigations suggest that children who exhibit consistent hand-preference behavior are better coordinated than those who lack this characteristic. The current investigation tested this assumption with a trichotomous hand-preference grouping (right, mixed [inconsistent], left) of 96 children. The Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency was used. Results indicate that for total performance, right-handers significantly out-performed the other two groups, which were not significantly different from one another. Fine- and gross-motor composite analyses suggest that left-handers are at a greater disadvantage than their mixed-handed peers, compared with right-handers. Thus, in the context of general motor proficiency, consistent right-handers seem to differ from their inconsistent (mixed) and left-handed counterparts. These findings may be explained, in part, by maturational differences that provide an advantage to those with left-hemispheric dominance.

Handedness in children at school entry: does the 'Mesker test' provide a valid method for testing writing handedness?

The 'Mesker test', an experiment devised after the psycho-motor dominance test described by the Dutch paediatrician Mesker, was evaluated as a method for testing writing handedness in 145 children at school entry in Crewe Health Authority. Also included in the assessment was if, and how these children know their laterality. Positive outcome was measured as Mesker test result corresponding to spontaneous hand-preference in symbol copying. The correct indication of right arm or leg was evaluated in relation to the outcome by chance. The Mesker test could not confirm hand-preference in children at school entry. There was no significant relation to the child's maturity and no significant consistency in test performance. The sub-group of right-handed writers who confirmed their handedness showed an almost significant level of consistency. No more children who thought they knew the right side indicated the correct limb then could have been arrived at by chance. This was not significantly related to having been taught, writing handedness or maturity. It is concluded therefore, that at school entry age children don't have a good knowledge of their body's laterality. Although the Mesker test does not confirm writing handedness at school entry, it may be useful in older children with inconsistent laterality.

Relationships between the direction of movements and handedness in children

It has been proposed that human handedness can be deduced from the direction of voluntary movements. To test this assumption, children of an elementary school were observed as they performed several tasks with their dominant hand: drawing circles on a piece of paper, making circular movements in the air with their index finger, drawing a human profile, boring and drawing a horizontal line. Both handedness of the children and the directionality of their drawings and movements were assessed. It appeared that the direction of drawing a horizontal line is the only variable that differentiates well between handedness groups. While this variable was hardly influenced by age, other variables were. Circling, for instance, was predominantly clockwise in the youngest and counter-clockwise in the older children. It was argued that the handedness of individual subjects cannot safely be determined from these measures.

The development of handedness in children

Direction and degree of handedness were assessed in children aged 3 to 9 years old, in transverse and longitudinal studies, using a 10‐item performance battery. Item analysis revealed a single underlying factor with a bimodal distribution. Direction of handedness appears to be more or less fixed by the age of 3. Degree of handedness increases at least over the range 3 to 7 years, and perhaps more slowly from 7 to 9. Degree of handedness increased more rapidly in left‐handers than in right‐handers. Degree of handedness showed no correlation with reading ability or general intelligence. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed, and interpreted in terms of a hypothesis whereby degree of handedness is a phenomenon sui generis.

Handedness conversion in children and parental handedness.

In order to find out which factor, genetic or environmental, is more involved in determining hand usage, the distribution of handedness in Japanese senior high school students and the success of their parents' attempts at conversion of handedness was investigated with respect to four pairings of parental handedness. When a child's handedness was related to that of the parent, children of a left-handed parent were more likely to be non-right-handed than those of both right-handed parents. There was no significant relation between parental handedness and the rate of handedness conversion of children. The results are in favor of the view that human handedness is genetically rather than forcibly determined by parents, although environmental factors such as parents' interference are involved in decreasing the incidence of non-right-handedness in Japan.

Premenarchal Breast Nodules

To the Editor.— In addition to the proper answers to the question regarding a breast nodule in a premenarchal girl (241:1621, 1979), I believe there is another cause of unilateral breast nodules. This is local self-trauma. It usually occurs in the breast opposite the child's handedness and often is seen when the child has a sibling or good friend who is beginning to experience normal breast development. The treatment is reassurance of the child as well as the parents.