Correlates of left-handedness in a large sample of schizophrenic patients

Questionnaire data concerning hand preference from the parents of 686 schizophrenic patients were used to test predictions relevant to neurodevelopmental models of schizophrenia. In line with predictions, left-handed patients (n = 94) had a more frequent history of difficult birth, more childhood cognitive and behavioural abnormalities and more persistent auditory hallucinations than did right-handed patients.