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In this study 58 learning-disabled (LD), 48 mentally retarded (MR), 55 emotional-behavioral disordered (EBD), and 58 regular education (RE) students in grades one through six were compared on levels of social skills and problem social behaviors. Subjects were teacher-rated on the School Social Behavior Scales (SSBS; Merrell, 1993a). LD and MR groups had similar levels of adjustment, which were significantly poorer than the RE group, but significantly better than the EBD group. SSBS scores were found to predict overall group membership patterns to a significant extent and were most effective at predicting group membership of RE and EBD subjects, but less effective at predicting group membership of LD and MR subjects. Findings highlight the importance of positive and negative social functioning as discriminating variables and lend support to the discriminant validity of the SSBS and its use as a research, screening, and assessment tool.

Self‐reported internalizing symptoms of seriously emotionally disturbed (SED) and regular education students in grades 4–6 were compared using the Internalizing Symptoms Scale for Children. All participants were African American and from an urban public school district in the Southeastern United States. Each of the two study groups consisted of 50 participants (35 boys, 15 girls) who were matched by gender and socioeconomic status. The SED group reported significantly higher levels of internalizing distress than the regular education group. In contrast to previous findings, there was no significant gender difference in self‐reported internalizing symptomatology in the present study. A discriminant function analysis found that the ISSC scores were able to correctly classify 91% of the participants into their respective educational group. Results of this study provide additional evidence of the construct validity of the ISSC, a recently developed and unique self‐report measure. Results are discussed in terms of future research needs and educational/clinical practice with students who have emotional and behavioral disorders. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.