Laterality and motor skills in four-year-olds.
From a population of 512 4-year-olds attending preschools, 41 children were identified as left-handed and 23 as lacking definite hand preference. Using the McCarthy Motor Scales and a fine-motor scale designed by the investigator, these children were compared with right-handers matched for age, sex, and preschool attended. T tests indicated no difference between left-handers and right-handers of either sex, but the children lacking hand preference had lower scores than right-handers. Implications for the education of children lacking handedness and possible sex differences are discussed.
D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D012737:Sex Factors