Predicting child handedness from measures of infant and toddler handedness
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Jonathan Latta (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- George Michel
Abstract: Cascade theory states that the development of hand preference for a simple action early in infancy will influence subsequent development of hand preference for more complex actions. To evaluate cascade theory, this study analyzed the relation of preferences across three age periods: infancy (6-14 months old), early toddlerhood (18-24 months old) and the preschool period (at 5 years). The infant’s manual preference for acquiring objects was assessed monthly across the 6-14-month age period and preferences were determined using a latent class model. This was compared to their manual preference for role-differentiated bimanual manipulation (RDBM) assessed during the 18-24-month age-period and finally these two preferences are compared to hand preference for RDBM at 5 years and differences in speed between hands when performing a one-handed peg-moving task that is commonly used to assess handedness at 5 years of age. In all three comparisons, the classifications of hand preference significantly agreed with each other in a kappa analysis and failed to significantly disagree with each other when analyzed with a McNemar-Bowker test of symmetry. At age 5, the peg-moving task scores of the groups showing a preference earlier in development were significantly different from each other. The results are discussed in relation to the predictions of cascade theory.
Predicting child handedness from measures of infant and toddler handedness
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Created on 8/1/2020
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- Language: English
- Date: 2020
- Keywords
- Childhood, Development, Handedness, Infancy, Lateralization, Toddlerhood
- Subjects
- Left- and right-handedness
- Child development