Gender and Sociodemographic Factors and the Disproportionate Identification of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students with Emotional Disturbance

The purpose of this study was to investigate gender and ethnicity disproportionality among students identified as having emotional disturbance (ED) and relationships between identification and sociodemographic factors. School districts’ sociodemographic characteristics were found to be strongly associated with the proportion of students identified as having ED. Results also indicated a clear association between ethnicity/gender and the likelihood of being identified as having ED, even after sociodemographic effects were accounted for. Adjusted odds ratios illustrated how the likelihood of identification for gender/ethnicity groups changed when sociodemographic effects were taken into account. The nature and direction of the relationship with identification rates were further explored for two of the sociodemographic variables. Policy and research recommendations are provided in the context of the critical need to improve identification and services for students with ED.