Publication Cover
Laterality
Asymmetries of Brain, Behaviour, and Cognition
Volume 18, 2013 - Issue 6
192
Views
2
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Article

Patterns of hand preference and unintentional injuries among Indian attempted hand switchers and hand non-switchers

, , &
Pages 652-670 | Received 09 Jul 2011, Published online: 19 Nov 2012
 

Abstract

This study examines the patterns of hand preference and unintentional injuries of attempted hand switchers and hand non-switchers. Data were collected from 3698 participants in Kharagpur, India, on measures of hand preference, hand switching, and unintentional injuries. The direction of left- or right-handedness was on the basis of hand used for the item “writing on paper” and the degree of handedness was based on the average score of remaining items in the handedness inventory. Results reveal that, among attempted hand-switchers, learned right-handers were not right-sided in hand continuum as the natural right-handers, but left-handers were left-sided as natural left-handers. With increasing age the learned right-handers become less right-sided and natural right-handers become more right-sided. Females (males) are found to be more right-handed than males (females) among learned right-handers (natural right-handers). On the direction of handedness, the learned right-handers have more than twice the risk of unintentional injuries than the natural right- and left-handers. On degree of handedness, the use of inconsistent left and both hands among natural left-handers, the use of inconsistent right and both hands among natural right-handers, and the use of weak right hand among learned right-handers increase their vulnerability to unintentional injuries. Any deviation from the genetic make-up in hand use elevates the risk of unintentional injuries, suggesting that one should not change the biological hand.

This research was supported in part by grants (No. SP/SO/B-15/2001) from Government of India, Ministry of Science and Technology, New Delhi. The authors are grateful to the anonymous reviewers and Chris McManus for their constructive criticisms and suggestions to improve the quality of the manuscript.

This research was supported in part by grants (No. SP/SO/B-15/2001) from Government of India, Ministry of Science and Technology, New Delhi. The authors are grateful to the anonymous reviewers and Chris McManus for their constructive criticisms and suggestions to improve the quality of the manuscript.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 53.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 304.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.