Sexual orientation and handedness in men and women: A meta-analysis

Author(s): Blanchard, R., Zucker, K. J.

Journal/Book: Psychol Bull. 2000; 126: 750 First St NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242, USA. Amer Psychological Assoc. 575-592.

Abstract: Recent findings suggest that sexual orientation has an early neurodevelopmental basis. Handedness, a behavioral marker of early neurodevelopment, has been associated with sexual orientation in some studies but not in others. The authors conducted a meta-analysis of 20 studies that compared the rates of non-right-handedness in 6.987 homosexual (6,182 men and 805 women) and 16,423 heterosexual (14,808 men and 1,615 women) participants. Homosexual participants had 39% greater odds of being non-right-handed. The corresponding values for homosexual men (20 contrasts) and women (9 contrasts) were 34% and 91%, respectively. The results support the notion that sexual orientation in some men and women has an early neurodevelopmental basis, but the factors responsible for the handedness-sexual orientation association require elucidation. The authors discuss 3 possibilities: cerebral laterality and prenatal exposure to sex hormones, maternal immunological reactions to the fetus, and developmental instability.

Note: Review Lalumiere ML, Ctr Addict & Mental Hlth, Law & Mental Hlth Program, 250 Coll St, Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, CANADA

Keyword(s): CONGENITAL ADRENAL-HYPERPLASIA; MULTICENTER AIDS COHORT; KINSEY INTERVIEW DATA; HOMOSEXUAL MEN; CEREBRAL LATERALIZATION; HAND PREFERENCE; HETEROSEXUAL MEN; DEVELOPMENTAL STABILITY; BIRTH-ORDER; DERMATOGLYPHIC ASYMMETRY

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