書字の読みやすさに関する発達的傾向―書字の特徴の定量的評価から─

Developmental tendencies in handwriting legibility: A quantitative evaluation of handwriting features

要旨：本研究は，実際に書いた字を文というまとまりとして捉え，学年の進行に伴う書字の傾向を検討することを目的に実施した．小学校1～6年生および成人に書字課題を行い，文字の大きさの平均，文字の大きさの変化，文字の間隔の平均，文字の間隔の変化，文字の配置の変化を指標に定量的評価を行った．その結果，文字の大きさの平均は学年の進行に伴い文字の大きさが小さくなる傾向を示した．その他の4つの指標は学年の進行によらず一定の傾向を示した．これらの結果は，発達障害領域における作業療法で，日常生活や学習活動で必要とされる読みやすい書字が獲得しにくい児童への支援を行う際の基準データとなると考えられた．

　The purpose of this study was to quantitatively assess and analyze the developed tendency to write legibly by focusing on a sentence composed of characters. 120 normal children (grades 1-6) and 20 healthy adults were asked to perform a simple writing task in which handwriting samples were assessed for size, space and alignment of characters. Following this, regression analysis was applied, and the developed tendency was examined. Data indicated that the average size of characters showed a particular tendency. On the other hand, the average space around the middle characters, the ratio of change in space, the ratio of change in alignment and the ratio of change in size showed a certain tendency. The results of this study should provide basic data to be considered in devising a method of supporting developmental disorders in children lacking fluent handwriting skills.