Prension of the pencil and writing in university students

Abstract

Introduction. Adequate pencil grip permits co­ordinated movements used in writing. Inadequate pencil grip can generate dificulties in writing legibility. Writing is a learning process in which conceptual, syntactic and motor factors are involved, who allows the communication.

Objective. Describe the type of pencil grip and the legibility of 18 to 24 years old undergraduate’s writing.

Material and methods. An observational, descriptive, transversal and prospective study. Sixty right-handed Pshychology undergraduate students (30 women and 30 men) participated. In an in­dividual manner, subjects realized writing tasks in which we described the type of grip and the legibility on the participant’s writing.

Results. 93% of cases presented inadequated pencil grip. 68% of those cases showed legible writ­ing prevailing on the cases that presented pressure on their fingers. The cases with adequate pencil grip did not present ilegibility in writing.

Discussion and conclusions. We did not find a specific pattern between the type of pencil grip and writing. It is necessary to suggest strategies for correcting inadequate pencil grip from basic education.