Factors influencing handwriting in young Maltese children

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship among the following variables in young children: sex, ability, age, handedness, handwriting on ruled and unruled paper and performance on the B.A.S. "Copying" Sub-Test. A sample of 515 children, 265 boys and 250 girls was selected from year 2 classes of Primary State Schools. From the analysis of the B.A.S. "Copying" Sub-Test it was concluded that no sex differences exist; however, the 'A' children and the older children achieved the highest scores and the right-handed children performed better than the left-handed. In the "Copy a Sentence" Test boys' performance was superior to that of girls when writing on ruled paper. However, no sex differences emerged when writing on unruled paper was considered. Children with an 'A' reported ability performed high both when writing on ruled and unruled paper. When writing on ruled and unruled paper slight differences exist between the older and the younger age group. No differences exist when writing on ruled paper; however, right-handed children tend to produce high quality handwriting when writing on unruled paper. Finally, some suggestions are made for a remediation programme for improving children's handwriting.