This study examined the relationship between extreme levels of depressive symptomatology and age, gender, and placement label among 465 students served in special education resource programs for the seriously emotionally disturbed and learning disabled. According to cutoff points on the Beck Depressive Inventory-Short Form, students' scores were categorized into either high or low depressive symptomatology groups. Group contrasts on the three epidemiologic variables were made via a logistic regression backward elimination strategy. Hierarchical loglinear analysis with backward elimination was computed on these variables. Gender was the only significant predictor of severe depressive symptomatology, with females more frequently categorized as exhibiting severe depressive symptomatology. Results are discussed in terms of identification and treatment issues.
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