The Left-Hander Syndrome by Stanley Coren

Author:Stanley Coren
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Free Press

9

The Sign of the Left

We have shown that left-handers get a “bad press” from the cultural attitude that “different is bad.” Left-handers, with their distinct pattern of hand use, are certainly seen as different by the right-handed majority. Perhaps, at least at the subconscious level, this feeling stirred researchers to look for links between pathological conditions and left-handedness. Whatever the initial motivation, we have already seen data that suggests that, for many people, left-handedness may have come about from some form of birth-related injury or pathology. Yet the data discussed in the last chapter is only the tip of the iceberg. Recent research shows that left-handedness may serve as a sign or a marker indicating the presence of other psychological and neurological problems in the individual. This conclusion is based upon findings that the percentage of left-handers seems to be much higher in groups with an assortment of psychological and physical problems. To give just a brief list,1 left-handers are more common in groups of individuals with a history of:

• alcoholism

• allergies

• attempted suicide

• autism

• bed-wetting

• brain damage

• chromosomal damage

• criminality

• depression

• drug abuse

• emotionality

• epilepsy

• homosexuality

• immune disorders

• juvenile delinquency

• mental retardation

• migraine headaches

• neuroticism

• poor verbal ability

• poor spatial ability

• predisposition toward aggression

• psychosis

• reading disability

• schizophrenia

• school failure

• sleep difficulty

• slow physical development

Why is left-handedness associated with these ailments and complaints? We don’t have to get melodramatic; left-handedness has not been singled out as a mark of major afflictions and infirmities. It simply fulfills certain conditions that make it an excellent candidate to serve as a signal that certain types of disorders may be present.

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