Strength of handedness as an indicant of delinquent's behavior

In a sample of incarcerated male delinquents (N = 254), dichotomous and continuous measures of handedness were compared in concurrent prediction of delinquent behavior and correlation with past delinquency. The continuous measures proved to be more sensitive indicants of scores on a rating scale of conduct disorder than was the simple dichotomy of left- vs. right-handed. This superiority of continuous measures was not seen on other indicants of delinquency, where sinistrality did not relate to delinquency. Sinistrality was related to the ratings of conduct disorder. No differences on measures of delinquency appeared when strongly and weakly lateralized groups of right- and left-handers were compared.