O desenvolvimento de dominância manual e podálica em crianças destras e canhotas entre três a oito anos de idade

This study focused on the developmental patterns of hand and foot dominance, and associated phenotypic asymmetries, such as mixed dominance and the correspondence between handedness and footedness among young children. Research indicates that for certain lateral traits, left-handers differ from right-handers: they are more mixed in their handedness and express an elevated rate of contralateral foot dominance for ball kicking. We sought to ascertain at which age level the direction and degree of handedness begins to stabilize; and whether footedness develops concurrently with handedness, and among left-handers, at which age do mixed and consistent phenotypes appear. There were 120 children (60 dextrals and 60 sinistrals) between the ages of three and eight, all assessed on 10 handedness and four footedness tasks. Results indicated that among both dextrals and sinistrals, the direction and degree of handedness was basically established by the age of three; in both groups handedness and footedness developed simultaneously at the same age, if not before. Among left-handers, groups of mixed and consistent phenotypes emerged at age three, and their differential frequency remained uniform at ages five and seven. It was concluded that the pattern of neuromotor dominance for primary manual tasks and for ball kicking was relatively invariante, probably lateralized prior to three-years of age. Keywords: handedness; footedness; lateral development; young children.