Development of Infant Prehension Handedness: A Longitudinal Analysis During the 6- to 14-Month Age Period

Claudio L. Ferre, Iryna Babik, George F. Michel

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

54 Scopus citations

Abstract

Handedness is a developmental phenomenon that becomes distinctively identifiable during infancy. Although infant hand-use preferences sometimes have been reported as unstable, other evidence demonstrates that infant hand-use preference for apprehending objects can be reliably assessed during the second half of the infant’s first year of life. The current study provides further insight into the stability of prehension preferences. We modeled individual and group level patterns of prehension handedness during the period from 6 to 14 months of age. We examined the developmental trajectories for prehension handedness in relation to the sampling rate at which preferences are assessed. The results revealed interesting developmental changes in prehension handedness that can only be identified when using monthly sampling intervals. We conclude that using non-linear multilevel models of infant handedness with monthly sampling intervals permit us to accurately capture the developmental changes in manual skills that occur during this period of infancy.
Original languageAmerican English
JournalInfant Behavior and Devleopment
Volume33
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2010
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • handedness
  • infants
  • laterality
  • longitudinal
  • mixed-models
  • prehension

EGS Disciplines

  • Child Psychology
  • Developmental Psychology

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