Correlation between the parameters of motor asymmetry in first graders during manual tasks

The article deals with the assessment of motor asymmetry in first graders during manual tasks. Motor asymmetry was measured in the same children (n = 89) by various methods: preference test, handgrip test, and unfamiliar task performance test (instrumental test). At the beginning of an academic year, despite the resemblance of children’s distribution in terms of interhemispheric asymmetry in various tests, there are no statistically significant correlations between the overall result of the asymmetry profile assessment by the preference test and by the handgrip test or the test performed with the motion measuring device. The results for determining a dominant hand in the preference test do not correlate with the results of the handgrip test. However, we revealed a correlation between this indicator and the asymmetry of motion duration in the instrumental test: R = 0.258; p = 0.024. The spring examination of the same sample revealed the changes in lateralization in some children as a result of the preference test, handgrip test, and instrumental test. However, the changes in the results of the preference test were individual, while the changes in the unfamiliar task performance test were revealed in the majority of children. We also found the correlations between the results of the instrumental test and other tests such as the asymmetry of motion smoothness and handedness in the ‘applause’ test (R = 0.259; p = 0.035), the asymmetry of the accuracy of flexors and asymmetry of the handgrip test (R= -0.227; p = 0.037).