Relationship between Palmar Dermatoglyphic Pattern and Academic Performance of Students in a Ghanaian Secondary School

Abstract

Dermatoglyphics which is a scientific study of epidermal ridge patterns on fingers (fingerprints) and palms (palmprints) is an important tool that has been used in the areas of personal identifica-tion, criminality as well as medical diagnosis of several congenital diseases. In this study, we hy-pothesized a positive relationship between academic performance and the dermatoglyphic pattern of the hand. The palmprints and fingerprints of 320 3rd and 4th year students of Ghana Senior High School, Koforidua were analyzed according to the number of Primary crease, Intersections of pri-mary crease and Complete transverse Crease (PIC) model of classification and FBI system of fin-gerprint classification respectively. The dermatoglyphic patterns of each student were compared to the cumulative academic results of five consecutive academic terms. The study revealed that stu-dents with symmetrical palmprints performed better academically than those with asymmetrical palmprints (p<0.001). Strikingly, students with Central Pocket Loop Whorl located on the ring and middle fingers performed better academically than those with other fingerprints (p<0.0001). None of the students displayed PIC 101, 201 and 211 palmprint patterns which characterize individuals with learning difficulties. The results thus demonstrate a close association between dermatoglyphic pattern of the hand and brain cognitive functions. Dermatoglyphics can therefore be used to identi-fy potentially weak students and to design teaching and counseling strategies for them. Further research using large sized samples are recommended for further elucidation of established linkag-es.Keywords: Dermatoglyphic pattern; palmprint; fingerprints, academic performance; PIC classification