Comparisons among children's responses to the Hand Test by grade, race, sex, and social class

Four hundred sixty-four children in grades K-8 of an urban school were tested in order to develop norms, check for the presence of developmental trends, and compare the performance of different demographic groups on the Hand Test. Comparisons across grade, race, sex, and socioeconomic class indicated that separate norms for grades, but single norms for race, sex, and socioeconomic levels are appropriate for elementary school children. Discrepancies in the developmental trends raised concern about the validity of indices of psychopathology especially as they apply to children in grades K-8.