Dermatoglyphic Development and Timing of Maturation

Document Type

Article

Authors

Robert J. Meier, Indiana University
Cheryl Sorenson Goodson, Indiana University
Eileen M. Roche, Wright State School of Medicine

Abstract

Digital and palmar prints obtained from the Fels Longitudinal Study were analyzed according to the traditional Cummins and Midlo meth­odology. Males (N = 83) and females (N = 104) were separately cate­gorized as either Early or Late Maturers based upon the age of peak height velocity for males and age of menarche for females. When maturation timing was tested against dermatoglyphic variables, significant differences (p < .05) were found only in digital variables for males, while, in contrast, significant differences (p < .05) were found in palmar variables for females. These findings were evident both in t-tests of interval variables (ridge counts and pattern intensities) and in chi-square tests of pattern types.The implications of these results are considered from a developmental perspective. There is support for the notion that individuals remain on the same tempo of development set down early in prenatal life. Late maturers of both sexes tended to have more complex patterns, although the affected area differs between the sexes. This finding may be related to an interaction between the differential timing of the development of digital and palmar volar pads and the concomitant factors involved in the different timing of maturation within and between the sexes.

Recommended Citation

Meier, Robert J.; Goodson, Cheryl Sorenson; and Roche, Eileen M. (1987) "Dermatoglyphic Development and Timing of Maturation," Human Biology: Vol. 59: Iss. 2, Article 16.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/humbiol/vol59/iss2/16