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Laterality
Asymmetries of Brain, Behaviour, and Cognition
Volume 20, 2015 - Issue 5
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Original Articles

Left-hand dominance in children: Prevalence and maternal stereotypes in a South-east Nigerian city

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Pages 530-542 | Received 08 Oct 2014, Accepted 08 Jan 2015, Published online: 04 Feb 2015
 

Abstract

The objectives of the study are to estimate the prevalence of left-hand dominance among children of selected mothers in an urban city and to determine the mothers' stereotypes about left-handedness. A cross-sectional study of mothers (N = 222) selected by systematic random sampling was done. The mothers were interviewed with structured questionnaires. Data were analyzed with appropriate descriptive statistics on SPSS. The estimated prevalence of left-hand dominance in their children was 7.52%. A left-handed mother was more likely to have a left-handed child. A substantial number of the mothers held negative stereotypes about left-hand dominance and showed a good knowledge about other types of handedness with a significant difference in the responses between right-handers and left-handers. The prevalence of left-hand dominance in their children supports previous reports which show that left-handedness usually occurs in less than 10% of the population. The mothers' negative stereotypes signify the likelihood of stigmatizing the children with this hand dominance.

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