Left-Handed Teens Are More Emotionally Stable
A new study on left-handedness and personality yields surprising insights.
Posted January 3, 2026 | Reviewed by Margaret Foley
10.6 percent of people are left-handed, and while handedness is first and foremost a motor preference, there are many ideas about other abilities or preferences that handedness may or may not affect. One idea is that left-handers and right-handers differ in terms of personality . However, studies on left-handedness and personality have yielded mixed results, and no clear picture has emerged so far. One problem of many studies on left-handedness and personality is that they often have small sample sizes, which limits the robustness of the statistical findings. Moreover, most studies have focused on adult samples of varying ages. Studies on children and adolescents are largely missing.
A new study on handedness and personality in 13- to 15-year-old students
A new study on handedness and personality has focused on solving these issues ( Francis and co-workers, 2025 ). The research team, led by scientist Leslie J. Francis from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom, analyzed data from a very large group of volunteers. More than 26,000 students aged between 13 and 15 years participated in the study from which the data was taken, the so-called Teenage Religion and Values Survey. The personality of the volunteers was assessed using a personality questionnaire specialized for testing adolescents, the Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire.
This questionnaire has three scales:
Handedness was assessed by asking the volunteers whether they were right-handed or not.
What did the scientists find out?
Interestingly, the statistical analyses revealed significant differences between left-handed and right-handed volunteers for all three personality scales. Left-handed volunteers had significantly lower extraversion scores than right-handed volunteers. Thus, the findings of the study suggest that left-handed adolescents are more introverted than right-handed adolescents. Left-handed volunteers also had lower neuroticism scores than right-handed volunteers. This suggests that left-handed adolescents are more emotionally stable than right-handed adolescents. The analysis of the tough-mindedness scale revealed that left-handed adolescents were more tough-minded than right-handed adolescents. These general findings were further supported by several more advanced statistical analyses.
Taken together, the results of the study show a clear link between handedness and personality in adolescents. Left-handed adolescents were more emotionally stable, more introverted, and tougher-minded than right-handed adolescents. While the scientists do not offer an in-depth explanation of why left-handed adolescents show this type of personality pattern, maybe the fact that they are a minority in a mostly right-handed world may have contributed to being more introverted and having learnt to deal with negative emotions a bit better than other people.
Facebook image: Ground Picture/Shutterstock
Francis, L. J., Laycock, P., & McKenna, U. (2025). The connection between handedness and the three major dimensions of personality revisited: A study among 13- to 15-year-old students in England and Wales. Laterality , 1–15. Advance online publication. doi.org/10.1080/1357650X.2025.2602698
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Sebastian Ocklenburg, Ph.D., is a professor for research methods in psychology at the Department of Psychology at MSH Medical School in Hamburg, Germany. His research focuses on left-handedness and brain asymmetries.
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