The Effect of Gender, Hand Anthropometry, Hand Dominance, and High School Grade on Hand Grip Strength in Filipino Teenagers Aged 15-18: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Abstract

Hand grip strength, or widely also known as Maximum Voluntary Contraction (MVC), is an important part in physical ergonomics. The purpose of the study was to establish Filipino teenagers’ hand grip strength data. In addition, another objective of the study was to investigate the causal relationships of gender, hand anthropometric, hand dominance, and high school grade on hand grip strength in Filipino teenagers by utilizing the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach. A total of 100 male and 100 female students were voluntary recruited from Mapúa Senior High School students to perform MVC. SEM indicated that gender was found to have the most significant effect on the hand grip strength, followed by hand anthropometric, and hand dominance. Interestingly, hand dominance was found to be significant on hand grip strength. This study is the first study that establish the hand grip strength among Filipino teenagers and it would be very beneficial for human factor engineers, hand therapists, and even medical doctors. Finally, the proposed SEM approach could be applied and extended in analyzing the hand grip strength in other countries.