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The development of neuromotor skills and hand preference during infancy
Julie M Campbell1, Emily C Marcinowski2, George F Michel3
1Department of Psychology, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois.
Insights
Infant handedness development is complex, with age, not neuromotor skills, predicting hand preference trajectories. Four distinct infant groups show varied development, highlighting the need for nuanced assessment.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Infant Motor Development
Background:
- Assessing infant handedness is challenging due to varied methods and theories.
- Previous research suggests postural control influences handedness, but findings are inconsistent.
- Age-based assessments may not fully capture neuromotor development's role in hand preference.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if neuromotor development, independent of age, predicts infant hand preference trajectories.
- To identify distinct developmental pathways of hand preference in infants.
- To compare age and neuromotor development as predictors of these pathways.
Main Methods:
- Utilized "Group III" indices from Touwen's Neurological development in infancy to assess neuromotor abilities (6-14 months).
- Measured infant hand preference for object acquisition during the same period.
- Employed Group Based Trajectory Models (GBTM) for 380 infants and a multilevel model for analysis.
Main Results:
- Identified four infant hand preference trajectories: Early Right (32%), Early Left (12%), Late Right (25%), and No Preference (30%).
- Age, not neuromotor development, significantly predicted differences in these trajectories.
- Early Right and Left infants showed advanced neuromotor skills at 6 months, while Late Right infants were less developed, with similar development rates across all groups thereafter.
Conclusions:
- Infant hand preference development follows distinct trajectories influenced more by age than neuromotor status.
- Four distinct groups of infants with varying hand preferences and neuromotor development exist.
- Future assessments of infant handedness should account for these diverse developmental pathways.
Abstract:
Assessing infant handedness has been controversial. Different assessment techniques and theoretical approaches produce different results. Evidence from a dynamic systems perspective showed that the development of postural control during infancy affects the expression of an infant's handedness. However, others found that developmental changes in postural control influenced the amount of symmetrical (bimanual) reaching during infancy, but not hand preference. Since most studies of infant handedness use age to assess development, perhaps measures of an infant's developing neuromotor control, irrespective of age, would better predict changes in an infant's hand preference. To assess neuromotor development, items from [Touwen's (1976) Neurological development in infancy. Lavenham, Suffolk: The Lavenham Press, LTD]. "Group III" indices were used. These items assess developmental changes in neuromotor abilities throughout the 6-14-month age period. Hand preference for acquiring objects was measured during these same months. Group Based Trajectory Models (GBTM) of 380 infants identified four different groups of infants according to the trajectory of the development of their hand preferences (32% Early Right, 12% Early Left, 25% Late Right, 30% No Preference). A multilevel model was used to compare these four developmental trajectories according to age and neuromotor development. Age, not neuromotor development, is a better predictor of differences in developmental trajectories of the four hand preference groups. However, Late Right infants are significantly less developed at 6 months than No Preference, Early Right and Left infants and both Early Right and Left infants are most advanced at 6 months. All groups exhibit similar rates of neuromotor development indicating no "catch-up" by the Late Right infants. Thus, any assessment of infant handedness will incorporate necessarily four groups of infants with differently developing hand preferences and neuromotor abilities.
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