Characteristics of Students with Emotional Disturbance Manifesting Internalizing Behaviors: A Latent Class Analysis

Students receiving special education services for emotional disturbance (ED) present school personnel with many challenges and those challenges can typically be described as the manifestation of externalizing and internalizing behaviors. To date, most research has focused on students exhibiting externalizing behaviors. This study addresses this gap by examining (a) prevalence of students receiving special education services for ED manifesting internalizing behaviors, (b) characteristics of students with ED manifesting internalizing behaviors, and (c) the relationship between teachers’ perceptions of internalizing behaviors and students’ self-report of internalizing behaviors. Using a nationally representative sample of students receiving special education services for ED, a latent class analysis was conducted to identify an internalizing class of students. Characteristics of those students were then examined based on a direct assessment of students. Results indicate that approximately 7% of students receiving special education services for ED manifest internalizing behaviors and that teachers’ ratings of in-class behavior were accurate when compared with students’ self-report of internalizing behaviors.