Diagnostic Discrimination Between Social Maladjustment and Emotional Disturbance: An Empirical Study

Abstract

The utility of two teacher rating scales, the Differential Test of Conduct and Emotional Problems and the Emotional and Behavior Problem Scale, to discriminate between emotional disturbance (ED) and social maladjustment (SM) was investigated in the study reported here. Participants were 135 students in the age range 12 to 15 years. The ED group was composed of 85 students, all of whom were classified as emotionally disturbed and received full-time special education services. The SM group was made up of 50 students who were in regular education middle school settings. All students in the SM group had experienced either internal or external suspension during the school year in which the data were collected. The overall pattern of scores on these scales suggests that students who are socially maladjusted and students who are labeled emotionally disturbed do not display separate, distinguishable behavioral syndromes. Implications for educators and for public policy makers are discussed.

Eligibility, Assessment, and Educational Placement Issues for Students Classified with Emotional Disturbance: Federal and State-Level Analyses

“…These include tools such as the Scale for Assessing Emotional Disturbance (SAED; Epstein & Cullinan, 1998), the Differential Test of Conduct and Emotional Problems (DT/ CEP; Kelly, 1990), and the Emotional and Behavior Problem Scale (EBPS; Wright, 1989). Serious questions remain about the discriminant validity of such assessment tools (Costenbader & Buntaine, 1999;Olympia et al, 2004). For example, the DT/CEP and EBPS have been used for their ability to differentiate between ED and social maladjustment, but Costenbader and Buntaine (1999) found that the DT/CEP failed to identify 79% of students who were previously classified with ED, and the EBPS incorrectly identified about 50% of students with social maladjustment who previously did not meet this exclusion criterion.…”

“…Serious questions remain about the discriminant validity of such assessment tools (Costenbader & Buntaine, 1999;Olympia et al, 2004). For example, the DT/CEP and EBPS have been used for their ability to differentiate between ED and social maladjustment, but Costenbader and Buntaine (1999) found that the DT/CEP failed to identify 79% of students who were previously classified with ED, and the EBPS incorrectly identified about 50% of students with social maladjustment who previously did not meet this exclusion criterion. Another commonly used instrument is the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS; Epstein & Sharma, 1998), which is noteworthy in part because it incorporates strengths-based assessment.…”

Shifting from categories to services: Comprehensive school‐based mental health for children with emotional disturbance and social maladjustment

“…Both behavioral excesses (e.g., physical aggression) and behavioral deficits (e.g., social withdrawal) should be considered disabling if the student's educational performance is compromised. Many now advocate for concentrating on how to best meet the complex educational and mental health needs of these students (Costenbader, 1999;Smith et al, 1988). At present, the majority of public schools provide services only at the point of demonstrable mental illness or disorder rather than promoting healthy social-emotional development (Adelman & Taylor, 2003).…”

Subgroup disproportionality in special education in a single district

“…The term includes schizophrenia, but does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted unless it is determined they have an emotional disturbance (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2007c, p. 22). The criteria for emotional disturbance is somewhat nebulous and subjective (Costenbader & Buntaine, 1999;Forness, 1992). Schools have struggled with consistently operationalizing the criteria leading to court cases that have done little to further define the disability (Forness, 1992).…”

“…Hypothesis Five looked at emotional disturbance and stated among students with a disability, emotional disturbance is more likely to be diagnosed with African American students, low SES students, and male students for the district under study. The criteria for identifying an emotional disturbance is poorly defined (Costenbader & Buntaine, 1999) and it was the category with the highest level of overrepresentation among African Americans in the district under study. In the regression model, SES and gender were both significantly associated with identification with an emotional disturbance.…”