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Relationship between handedness and persistent emotional distress in adults experiencing an earthquake
Benedetto Farina1, Eva Mazzotti, Federica Farina
1European University of Rome, Rome, Italy. b.farina@ccds.it
Aim:
Post-traumatic emotional distress follows exposure to trauma and may be affected by atypical cerebral lateralisation. We aimed to explore the relationship between handedness and emotional dysfunction in people exposed to a nat-ural disaster.
Methods:
About 22 months after an earthquake, 326 exposed adults completed the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory, the Impact of Events Scale-Revised, and the Insomnia Severity Index.
Results:
Mixed-handed people, compared to right-handed, had a 3.3 fold increase in odds to have emotional distress. Consistent left-handers scored higher than consistent right- and mixed-handers on the ISI scale.
Conclusions:
Findings support that lateral preference is associated with emotion-al distress in people exposed to trauma.
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