Reliability and predictive validity of the Dean Laterality Preference Schedule with preadolescents

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Human Movement Science

Background:

• Assessing lateral preference is crucial for understanding developmental trajectories.
• Existing measures may lack robust validation in preadolescent populations.
• The Dean Laterality Preference Schedule (DLPS) offers a self-report approach to assess handedness, eyedness, footedness, and earedness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reliability and predictive validity of the Dean Laterality Preference Schedule (DLPS).
• To determine the DLPS's effectiveness in predicting actual task performance in preadolescent children.
• To assess the temporal stability of DLPS scores over a four-week period.

Main Methods:

• The Dean Laterality Preference Schedule (DLPS) was administered to 50 preadolescent children.
• Lateral preference for specific tasks (eyes, ears, hands, feet) was assessed.
• Test-retest reliability was measured after four weeks, and predictive validity was assessed by comparing self-report to actual task performance.

Main Results:

• The DLPS demonstrated good predictive validity for manual (hand) lateral preference patterns.
• The temporal stability of the DLPS scores was high, with a reliability coefficient of .91.
• The schedule met minimum requirements for reliability and predictive validity in the studied age group.

Conclusions:

• The Dean Laterality Preference Schedule (DLPS) is a reliable and valid tool for assessing lateral preference in preadolescent children.
• The DLPS can accurately predict children's manual lateral preference patterns.
• The findings support the use of the DLPS in research and clinical settings involving preadolescent development and behavior.