Characteristics of children referred to school psychologists: A discriminant analysis

This study compared characteristics of 114 elementary school children of average intelligence who had been referred for psychological services with 120 children of average intelligence who had not been referred. Variables included, sex, relative age, race, socioeconomic status, familial stability, achievement test scores, and intraschool factors. At the primary level, significant differences were found between the groups in terms of sex and relative age. Boys were referred 4 times as frequently as girls, and 16 times as many boys within the relatively youngest group were referred as girls within the oldest group. The total groups were successfully discriminated using math achievement, sex, race, and father of the same name in the household. The variables that best discriminated the primary level groups included sex, relative age, father with the same name in the household, and having attended the same school the previous year. Implications and possible preventative measures are discussed.