Relationship between handedness and persistent emotional distress in adults experiencing an earthquake

  • Riv Psichiatr. 2012 Jul-Aug;47(4):309-12. doi: 10.1708/1139.12558.
Benedetto Farina  1 ,  Eva Mazzotti ,  Federica Farina ,  Giacomo Della Marca ,  Valeria Savoja ,  Giorgio D Kotzalidis ,  Angela Campanile ,  Claude Moussa Chemtob ,  Massimo di Giannantonio ,  Roberto Tatarelli
Affiliations
PMID: 23023081 DOI: 10.1708/1139.12558
Abstract

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.