TEACHER RATINGS OF STUDENT SOCIAL-BEHAVIOR AS A PREDICTOR OF SPECIAL-EDUCATION STATUS - DISCRIMINANT VALIDITY OF THE SCHOOL SOCIAL-BEHAVIORSCALES

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 s kills and problem social behaviors. Subjects were teacher-rated on the School Social Behavior Scales (SSBS; Merrell, 1993a). LD and MR group s had similar levels of adjustment, which were significantly poorer th an the RE group, but significantly better than the EBD group. SSBS sco res were found to predict overall group membership patterns to a signi ficant extent and were most effective at predicting group membership o f RE and EBD subjects, but less effective at predicting group membersh ip of LD and MR subjects. Findings highlight the importance of positiv e and negative social functioning as discriminating variables and lend support to the discriminant validity of the SSBS and its use as a res earch, screening, and assessment tool.