Abstract
The fall in the prevalence of left-handedness with age has been attributed to the effect of forced dextrality on handwriting. The purpose of this study was to assess handwriting preference in a cohort of children and adult participants in order to study the correlation between age and incidence of sinistrality. A strong preference for right handwriting across all ages with a decrease in sinistrality with age (18% in those under 20 versus 3% in those over 60) was observed. This phenomenon was not continuous, and a dramatic drop at age 30–40 years might be attributed to changes in educational management during the 1960s, especially after the events of May 1968 in France.