title: Left hand preference is related to posttraumatic stress disorder.
abstract: Previous studies have found an increased prevalence of mixed/left handedness in male combat veterans and children with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study examined lateral preference and screened for possible PTSD using a self-completion instrument in a general population sample (N = 596). Fifty-one individuals met all criteria for possible diagnosis of PTSD and, significantly, this group contained relatively more left handers; this effect was associated with strong left-handedness, rather than weak or mixed handedness. Left handers were found to have significantly higher scores in arousal symptoms of PTSD. This study extends previous findings to a civilian population and to women and suggests the association with left handedness may be a robust finding in people with PTSD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland, UK. cjc2@stir.ac.uk
authors.forename: Carolyn J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Choudhary
authors.forename: Ronan E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: O'carroll
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001143:Arousal; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012606:Scotland; D012737:Sex Factors; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology