The five characteristics of emotional disturbance (ED) as stated in the IDEA definition and a variable called socially maladjusted, were investigated. Participants were African American and European American elementary school boys and girls, 336 with ED and 548 without ED. Variables were measured with the Scale for Assessing Emotional Disturbance. Students with ED exceeded those without ED on all characteristics. Student category and race interacted for all characteristics in various ways. There were also interactions of category and gender. Among students with ED, one form of comorbidity was more prevalent among girls than boys, but there were no differences by race. Results clarify how students with ED exhibit the five characteristics associated with having ED and the socially maladjusted condition and show the need to consider all five characteristics in understanding the ED disability.
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