Handedness and depression in university students: A sex by handedness interaction

Previous research has indicated that there is an increased incidence of lef t-handedness in samples of depressed individuals. We administered the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to a sample of 541 undergraduate students. Left- handed males showed significant elevation of BDI scores.. It is unlikely th at this result is due to decreased right hemisphere activity or sex-role co nflicts. However, one possibility is that known differences in male steroid hormones levels between right- and left-handers contributed to this effect . (C) 2001 Academic Press.