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Document 1 of 1 Emotional Adjustment and School Functioning of Young Adolescents with Multiple Versus SingleLearning Disabilities Author: Martínez, Rebecca S; Semrud-Clikeman, Margaret ProQuest document link Abstract: Early adolescents (Grades 6-8) with multiple learning disabilities (LD; reading and math) in inclusivesettings were compared to adolescents with single LD (reading or math) and typically achieving (TA) peersregarding their psychosocial functioning in two areas of adolescent well-being: emotional adjustment and schoolfunctioning. The Behavior Assessment System for Children (Reynolds &Kamphaus, 1998) Self-Report ofPersonality for adolescents was used to determine well-being. One hundred twenty middle school students-15boys and 15 girls in each group-were included in the current study. The results confirmed that adolescents withmultiple LD (reading and math) reported poorer functioning (i.e., higher T scores) on school maladjustment,clinical maladjustment, emotional symptoms index, attitude to school, atypicality, and depression whencompared to TA peers but not when compared to peers with a single LD (reading or math). All three groupsdiffered from the TA group (but not from each other) on sense of inadequacy, with the multiple LD groupreporting the highest T scores. Additional analyses indicated significant differences between girls and boys,regardless of disability status. Girls reported higher T scores on the emotional symptoms index, social stress,and depression, but boys reported greater school maladjustment and sensation seeking. Implications forpractice and recommendations for future research are discussed. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT] Full text: Headnote Abstract Early adolescents (Grades 6-8) with multiple learning disabilities (LD; reading and math) in inclusive settingswere compared to adolescents with single LD (reading or math) and typically achieving (TA) peers regardingtheir psychosocial functioning in two areas of adolescent well-being: emotional adjustment and schoolfunctioning. The Behavior Assessment System for Children (Reynolds &Kamphaus, 1998) Self-Report ofPersonality for adolescents was used to determine well-being. One hundred twenty middle school students-15boys and 15 girls in each group-were included in the current study. The results confirmed that adolescents withmultiple LD (reading and math) reported poorer functioning (i.e., higher T scores) on school maladjustment,clinical maladjustment, emotional symptoms index, attitude to school, atypicality, and depression whencompared to TA peers but not when compared to peers with a single LD (reading or math). All three groupsdiffered from the TA group (but not from each other) on sense of inadequacy, with the multiple LD groupreporting the highest T scores. Additional analyses indicated significant differences between girls and boys,regardless of disability status. Girls reported higher T scores on the emotional symptoms index, social stress,and depression, but boys reported greater school maladjustment and sensation seeking. Implications forpractice and recommendations for future research are discussed. Chronic school failure is associated with poor academic and emotional functioning (Chapman, 1988; Margalit&Zak, 1984; Patten, 1983). School failure is a trademark of students with learning disabilities (LD);consequently, children and adolescents with LD may be particularly vulnerable to emotional problems andschool maladjustment. The literature has illustrated that relative to typically achieving peers, students with LDface significant emotional difficulties (Arthur, 2003), including social isolation (Mishna, 1996), peer rejection(Kuhne &Wiener, 2000; Ochoa &Olivarez, 1995), and loneliness (Margalit, 1998). Children and adolescents withLD also encounter considerable school and academic problems, including poor motivation (Fulk, 1996), highdropout rates (Lichtenstein &Zantol-Wiener, 1988), and modest school achievement (Gresham, MacMillan,&Bocian, 1997). Students with LD may work harder than their teachers give them credit for (Meltzer, Katzir-

Cohen, Miller, &Roditi, 2001), and teachers have been noted to perceive students with LD as less motivated(Grolnick &Ryan, 1990) and less competent (Meltzer, Roditi, Houser, &Perlman, 1998) than typical students. Despite experiencing considerable emotional and academic problems, children and adolescents with LD reportthat they do value school and recognize the importance of academic tasks (Hatzichristou &Hopf, 1993; Kloomok&Cosden, 1994). Students with LD also hold academic competence in high regard and deem hard work andeffort to be important determinants of their academic success (Meltzer et al., 2001). Roeser, Eccles, andSameroff (1998) reported that adolescents' perceptions of their academic competence were positivelycorrelated to grade point average (GPA), whereas emotional distress was negatively correlated to GPA. Thus,emotional distress in young adolescents may be assuaged by affirmative academic variables such as feelingcompetent, valuing school, and earning good grades (Roeser, Eccles, &Sameroff, 2000). Although academicand emotional functioning reciprocally affect each other, there are limited data examining the co-occurrence ofacademic and emotional problems in children and adolescents (Roeser, Eccles, &Strobel, 1998). The mainobjective of this study was to explore emotional functioning and school adjustment reported by middle schooladolescents in inclusive classes based on three disability categories: (a) single learning disability (either readingor math); (b) multiple LD (reading and math); and (c) typically achieving (i.e., no LD). Heterogeneity of LD The term LD is broadly used to describe a heterogeneous group of deficits. Persons with LD have specific andsevere impairments in one or more academic areas. Federal guidelines currently recommend that a diagnosisof LD be based on the severe discrepancy (see Note) between scores that measure ability (i.e., IQ) andachievement in one or more of the following academic areas: oral expression, listening comprehension, writtenexpression, basic reading skill, reading comprehension, math calculation, and mathematics reasoning (U.S.Department of Education, 1997). Despite the existence of distinct types or categories of LD (e.g., reading andmath), researchers often group individuals with one or more learning deficits into a single LD category. AlthoughLD subtyping research has become more prominent in the recent literature (e.g., Davis, Parr, &Lan, 1997;Fuerst &Rourke, 1995; McIntosh &Gridley, 1993; Swanson, 1994), the participants in this research are generallyselected from clinic-referred samples, and the results of these studies are not generalizable to the generalschool population of students with LD. Although some of the literature has established that children with LD suffer social, emotional, and academicproblems, we have limited data about the emotional and school challenges that students with LD encounter inspecific academic areas. Rourke and Fuerst (1992) argued that there is "an almost lack of sensitivity to thenotion that there may be subtypes of children with LD for whom various kinds of academic and social learningmay be more or less difficult to achieve" (p. 362). Greater sensitivity to LD types, both in clinical and empiricalinvestigations, is critical to efforts aimed at providing remediation and compensation strategies and interventions(Strang &Rourke, 1985) and provides valuable information for educational placement decisions. Emotional Adjustment and School Functioning In their review of the literature, Bender and Wall (1994) suggested that children in heterogeneous LD samplesare more susceptible to emotional and social problems than children without LD. Similarly, Sabornie (1994)investigated sixth and seventh graders with and without LD who were matched on gender, race, grade, andpresence in the same general education class. Using group membership (LD and non-LD) as the independentvariable, Sabornie analyzed students' raw scores on various measures of psychosocial functioning. Overall, hefound that students with LD expressed more loneliness, more victimization, and less social satisfaction (i.e.,school integration) than their non-LD matched peers. Clinical observations of students with LD also show thatthis population tends to suffer chronic low levels of depression and anxiety (Cohen, 1986) and are moredepressed than peers who do not have LD (Goldstein, Paul, &Sanfilippo-Cohn, 1985). Several researchers have generated hypotheses to explain the underlying reasons for the frequent occurrenceof emotional problems among students who experience academic problems. For example, Guay, Boivin, and

Hodges (1999) recently posited that psychological difficulties lead to academic failure. In a longitudinal study,they followed second- through fourth-grade students over a 2-year period and reported evidence that negativeexperiences with peers led to feelings of loneliness, which in turn contributed to poor academic self-evaluations.On the other hand, Chapman (1988) argued that negative school-related attitudes develop early in the lives ofchildren who experience school failure and remain negative but consistent through high school, supporting thenotion that academic difficulties and emotional problems co-occur. A third position, argued by Goldstein et al.(1985), posits that academic failure leads to impairments in psychosocial functioning. That is, for children withLD, depression is an expected cognitive and emotional response to chronic academic failure. This theory hasmost recently been referred to as the academic difficulties hypothesis (Roeser, Eccles, &Strobel, 1998). Basedon this theoretical framework, children with LD, who typically experience persistent academic failure throughoutschool, are vulnerable to emotional problems as a result of their recurrent academic problems, which precededthe emotional difficulties. In line with the academic difficulties hypothesis, we propose that students with multiple learning disabilities,especially in the core academic areas (reading and math), have to exert greater efforts to compensateacademically and emotionally for their learning deficits compared to students with a single learning disability andpeers without LD. As a result of experiencing academic problems in multiple academic areas (e.g., mathematicsand reading), psychosocial Stressors would be more apparent in the self-report measures of students withmultiple LD compared to students with LD in a single academic area and students with no LD. Method Participants Participants included 120 sixth- (n = 33), seventh- (n = 54), and eighth-grade (n = 33) adolescents. Fifteen boysand 15 girls were identified in each of four groups: reading and mathematics disabilities (RD + MD), readingdisabilities only (RD), math disabilities only (MD), and typically achieving (TA). Students with mental retardation,pervasive developmental disorder, and auditory or visual impairments were excluded. Only students educatedin inclusive settings for most of the school day participated in the study. The participants were at least 12 yearsold, and the sample included 65 European Americans, 37 Hispanics, 16 African Americans, and 2 AsianAmericans. Procedure Participants were recruited from 14 public middle schools in two large neighboring school districts in themetropolitan Southwest. Students in the reading and mathematics disabilities (RD + MD), reading disabilitiesonly (RD), and mathematics disabilities only (MD) groups were identified based on the state's discrepancydefinition of a learning disability-that is, a 16-point or greater discrepancy between ability (IQ) and achievement.The scores were obtained from cumulative folders and were based on the students' most recent annual or 3-year psychoeducational evaluation. Students in the TA group scored within the average range on an abbreviated measure of the WechslerIntelligence Scale for Children, Third Edition (WISC-III; Wechsler, 1991) composed of the Block Design andVocabulary subtests. Full Scale IQ was computed according to Sattler (1988). The Math and Reading subtestsof the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT; Psychological Corp., 1992) provided academicachievement standard scores, which were in the average to aboveaverage range and did not significantly differfrom the abbreviated IQ scores. All students in the TA group attended one or more classes with participants inthe RD, MD, and RD + MD groups. Table 1 displays IQ and math and reading achievement standard scoremeans and standard deviations for the sample by group. Measures The Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC; Reynolds &Kamphaus, 1998) is a multidimensional,normreferenced rating scale used to evaluate emotional and behavioral disorders in children ages 2 years 6months to 18 years 11 months. The BASC was normed on a sample of more than 9,000 students. The three

core scales include Teacher Rating Scales (TRS), Parent Rating Scales (PRS), and Self-Report of Personality(SRP). The TRS and PRS each have three levels: preschool (2-5), child (6-11), and adolescent (12-18). TheSRP is available for children (8-11) and adolescents (12-18). The adolescent level of the BASC-SRP was usedin the current study. Teacher and parent forms were not administered. During the administration, participants rated items true or false in response to 186 statements reflectingpersonal thoughts and feelings. Scores on the clinical scales and composites were expressed as T scores (M =50; SD = 10). Scores between 60 and 69 reflect at-risk behavior, and scores above 70 are in the clinicallysignificant range. The BASC manual reports internal consistency reliability for the SRP (adolescent version) tobe .88 to .99 for the composites and .58 to .89 for the clinical scales. Test-retest reliability scores for thecomposites range from .81 to .86. The manual also reports evidence of the scale's validity as significantcorrelations to similar measures, including the Youth Self-Report (YSR; Achenbach, 1985).

The BASC-SRP consists of four composites, and we chose to examine the following three and the clinicalscales that load on each: the Emotional Symptoms Index (ESI; Social Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Sense ofInadequacy, Interpersonal Relations, and Self-Esteem), School Maladjustment (Attitude to School, Attitude toTeachers, and Sensation Seeking) and Clinical Maladjustment (Atypicality, Locus of Control, Somatization,Social Stress, and Anxiety). Data Analysis Based on the academic difficulties hypothesis, we hypothesized that students with multiple LD would reportgreater emotional distress and school maladjustment than their peers with a single LD and their TA peers. First,we calculated descriptive statistics to obtain a general profile of the sample. Next, we used analysis of variance(ANOVA) to examine group differences on ability (IQ) and achievement in reading and math. Then weexamined group and gender differences on the three composites of interest using a 4 ×2 (Group ×Gender)MANOVA. Using the Bonferroni procedure to correct testwise error, we also conducted subsequent univariate

analyses. We set the alpha level for the analysis of the overall model (the omnibus F) at .05. For thesubsequent univariate analyses of single variables, the alpha level was set accordingly, based on the Bonferroniprocedure for guarding against a chance of error from using numerous univariate analyses (testwise error). Asubsequent MANOVA was run on the clinical scales that made up the composites that showed significant maineffects. In addition to testing for significance, we calculated effect size measures for each comparison. Cohen'sd (Cohen, 1988) was adopted for this analysis. Cohen's d is defined as the standardized mean differencebetween the experimental group and the control group on the measured outcome. According to Cohen (1988),effect sizes can be categorized as small (d = 0.2), medium (d = 0.5), or large (d = 0.8).

Results One-way ANOVAs revealed a significant group effect for IQ, F(3, 289) = 4.39, p <.006. Students in the MDgroup (M = 97.33, SD = 8.29) were significantly lower in IQ, F(3, 301) = 4.69, p <.004, relative to students in theTA group (M = 106.88, SD = 12.21). As expected, the ANOVAs also indicated group differences on basicreading, F(3, 2722) = 34.6, p <.001, and math calculations, F(3, 3597) = 35.7, p <.001. On basic reading, all ofthe LD groups were significantly different from the TA group and each other (except for the RD and RD + MDgroups). The TA group scored the highest mean score (M = 104.88, SD = 11.47), followed by the MD (M =92.80, SD = 11.07), RD (M = 77.87, SD = 6.94), and RD + MD (M = 77.70, SD = 7.84) groups. On mathcalculations, the RD group (M = 97.80, SD = 10.91) scored significantly better than the RD + MD group (M =79.53, SD = 9.84, p <.001), whereas the TA group (M = 102.13, SD = 10.97) scored significantly better than theRD + MD group (p <.001). No additional group differences were noted on math calculations. Table 2 lists the means and standard deviations by group and gender on the three BASC-SRP compositesexamined in this study. A 4 ×2 (Group ×Gender) MANOVA with the three BASC composites as dependentvariables revealed a main effect for group, F(9, 268) = 1.97, p <.043, and gender, F(3, 110) = 6.31, p <.001, butnot for the interaction between group and gender, F(9, 268) = .68, p <.732. Bonferroni post hoc analyses on the

effect of group using contrasts indicated significant group differences between the TA group and the RD + MDgroup on School Maladjustment (p <.031, Cohen's d = .72), Clinical Maladjustment (p <.047, Cohen's d = .76),and the Emotional Symptoms Index (p <.008, Cohen's d = .91). In all cases, students in the RD + MD categoryreported higher F scores (i.e., poorer functioning) than the TA group. A significant difference also emergedbetween the TA and MD groups on the school maladjustment composite (p <.022, Cohen's d = .88) in favor ofthe TA group. No additional group differences on the composites emerged. Gender differences appeared on the School Maladjustment Composite (p <.040, Cohen's d = .37) and theEmotional Symptoms Index (p <.025, Cohen's d = .40) but not on Clinical Maladjustment (p <.262). Boysreported higher T scores than girls on School Maladjustment (M = 55.12, SD = 10.81), whereas girls reportedhigher T scores than boys on the Emotional Symptoms index (M = 55.10, SD = 13.71). Because the three composites showed main effects, we ran a second MANOVA on the clinical scales that madeup each of the composites (Social Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Sense of Inadequacy, Interpersonal Relations,Self-Esteem, Attitude to School, Attitude to Teachers, Sensation Seeking, Atypicality, Locus of Control,Somatization, Social Stress, and Anxiety). Table 3 lists the means and standard deviations for these clinical scales. The results of the MANOVA indicateda main effect for group, F(12, 103) = 2.76, p <.003, on Attitude to School, F(3, 406) = 2.98, p <.035, Atypicality,F(3, 433) = 3.19, p <.026, Depression, F(3, 445) = 3.53, p <.017, Sense of Inadequacy, F(3, 1067) = 7.85, p<.001, and Interpersonal Relations, F(3, 316) = 3.14, p <.028. Bonferroni post hoc analyses on the effect ofgroup using contrasts indicated that students in the RD + MD group showed significantly more impairment thanthe TA group on Atypicality (p <.043, Cohen's d = .74) and Depression (p <.017, Cohen's d = .84) but not on theremaining clinical scales. Group differences between the RD + MD and TA groups did approach significance onAttitude to School (p <.086, Cohen's d = .64) and Interpersonal Relations (p <.066, Cohen's d = .07). The RD (p<.019, Cohen's d = .87), MD (p <.005, Cohen's d = .94), and RD + MD (p <.001, Cohen's d = 1.26) groups weresignificantly different and showed more impairment on Sense of Inadequacy compared to the TA group but notcompared to each other. No additional group differences among the clinical scales were noted. Finally, a main effect on the clinical scales emerged for gender, F(12, 101) = 2.29, p <.013, but not for theinteraction between group and gender, F(12, 103) = 1.62, p <.098. Girls reported significantly higher T scoresrelative to boys on Social Stress, Depression, and Self-Esteem, whereas boys indicated higher T scores onSensation seeking. No additional gender differences on the remaining clinical scales emerged. Discussion The current study investigated group differences among students with single versus multiple LD in two areas ofadolescent well-being: emotional adjustment and school functioning. Our hypothesis that students with multipleLD fare worse than students with a single LD and students with no LD was partially supported by our findingsthat students in the RD + MD category showed significantly more impairment than students in the TA group (butnot compared to their RD or MD peers) on the three composites of the BASC-SRP (Clinical Maladjustment,Emotional Symptoms Index, and School Functioning) and on two clinical scales, Depression and Atypicality.These findings can be partially explained by earlier research. There is consensus in the literature that having LDpredisposes a person to social and emotional difficulties, especially during adolescence (Mishna, 1996). Whencompared to adolescents without LD, adolescents with LD exhibit more internalizing symptoms (Cohen, 1986;Guay et al., 1999; Hatzichristou &Hopf, 1993) and endorse higher levels of depressive symptomatology(Bender, Rosenkrans, &Crane, 1999). Although the referenced studies did not examine psychosocialdifferences by LD type (i.e., single vs. multiple), the current study offers preliminary evidence that children withmultiple LD (but not single LD) may be qualitatively different in their emotional and school functioning than theirpeers without LD. Our findings further indicate that students with multiple LD may be more socially immature than students withoutLD. In the current study, children in the RD + MD group showed significantly more impairment on the Atypicality

scale than their TA peers. The Atypicality scale measures behaviors that are considered immature and odd(Reynolds &Kamphaus, 1998). Consistent with the literature, children with LD have been described as havingpoor social skills relative to their peers without LD (Kavale &Forness, 1996). It is possible that students withlearning problems in only one area are able to compensate for their academic difficulties and thereforeexperience fewer academic failures; as a result, they are better adjusted than students with problems in multipleacademic areas. Our work also shows that students with both single and multiple LD perceived a greater sense of inadequacythan students without LD. Although students with LD do not generally report poorer global self-concepts thantheir TA peers (Bear, Minke, &Manning, 2002), children with LD in one or multiple areas seem to feelinadequate regarding their intellectual ability and school status (Gans, Kenny, &Ghany, 2003). Finally, group comparisons also revealed that students with multiple LD and with single MD showed greaterschool maladjustment than students in the TA group. Sabornie (1994) investigated the emotional functioning ofsixth and seventh graders with and without LD who were in the same general education class. By and large,students with LD expressed more loneliness, more victimization, and less social satisfaction (i.e., schoolintegration) than their non-LD peers. The finding that students with multiple learning disabilities and mathdisabilities fare worse on school adjustment relative to TA students may be partially explained by the tendencyfor students with LD to compare themselves to their TA peers (Bear, Clever, &Proctor, 1991). This may beparticularly true in the current study because all participants were in inclusive classroom settings with typicalpeers. Further research is needed to determine why students with a math disability but not a reading disabilityshowed more school maladjustment than TA students.

In sum, our findings indicate that having multiple learning disabilities (in reading and math) may be a risk factorfor emotional functioning and school adjustment. Consistent with this line of thought, Morrison and Cosden(1997) wrote about LD as a risk factor that, combined with other risk factors, exacerbates poor emotional

functioning. More recently, Margalit (2003) discussed the important role that mediating protective factors (e.g.,emotion regulation, peer and adult support) play in the healthy adjustment of youth with LD. Wong (2003) andSorensen et al. (2003) underscored the importance of longitudinal research in understanding how contextualfactors (e.g., school size, classroom placement, friendship patterns, severity of LD) interact with individualfactors that facilitate or impede healthy psychosocial development. Our findings suggest that having multiplelearning disabilities (in reading and math) may be a risk factor for psychosocial difficulties and school problems.Longitudinal work is needed to investigate if having multiple LD is causally related to students' emotional andschool problems. Gender Differences Another major finding in this study was that girls reported more difficulty on the Depression and Sense ofInadequacy composites and the Emotional Symptoms Index than boys. These results are echoed in a recent10-year longitudinal study about the development of depression from preadolescence to young adulthood. Inthis study, Hankin and Abramson (1999) reported that adolescent girls are consistently more depressed thantheir male peers. Unfortunately, dysthymic characteristics in childhood are prognostic of later emotionaldifficulties for girls but not for boys (Kandel &Davies, 1986), which may partially explain why women report moredepression than men (Gladstone &Koenig, 1994). Bear, Juvonen, and McInerney (1993) emphasized theimportance of research that investigates aspects of girls' personal and social adjustment. Bruck (1985)examined adults with LD and compared their educational, psychological, occupational, and social functioning toindividuals without LD. Regrettably, she found that despite having learned to compensate in many areas in theacademic domain, women with LD were at higher risk than men (with and without LD) for emotional and socialproblems in adulthood (Bruck, 1985). In contrast, boys in this study reported poorer functioning than girls on School Maladjustment and Sensationseeking. Although boys and girls make up roughly equal proportions of the school-age population, boys accountfor approximately two thirds of all students in special education (U.S. Department of Education, 1998). By andlarge, boys are more likely than girls to be referred for special education by their teachers (Flynn &Rahbar,1994), principally because boys, when compared to girls, are inclined to act out or disrupt in class (Lubs et al.,1991). This is alarming, given that students with school discipline problems are at risk for dropping out of school(Altenbaugh, Engel, &Martin, 1995). Interventions that address girls' emotional functioning and boys' uniquepsychosocial difficulties, regardless of disability status, should be the focus of future work in schools. Future Work The LD literature has traditionally conceptualized our understanding of LD from within a deficit model. Thedeficit framework has systematically ignored critical contextual factors that interact with child variables (e.g.,self-efficacy, attitudes toward school, internalizing symptomatology, personality) to facilitate (or impede) healthypsychosocial adjustment. To date, few researchers have applied a risk and resilience framework in theirresearch with individuals with LD (Margalit, 2003). Wong (2003) challenged future LD researchers to implementthe risk and resilience framework in their investigations about the psychosocial functioning of children andadolescents with LD. This positive paradigm shift emphasizes research that explores risk and protective factorsthat influence the developmental outcomes of individuals with LD. A second area worthy of future investigation centers on the compensation strategies (both academic andemotional) used by students with LD. Perhaps students with a single LD have adopted successful means ofcoping with their academic deficits that, once identified, can be systematically taught to students with multipleLD. For example, internal factors such as focusing on academic promise (rather than academic shortfalls),persistence, and self-confidence (Gerber &Reiff, 1991) have been found to be characteristics of successfulpeople with LD. Recommendations for Practitioners Counselors and school psychologists who work with children with LD should focus on learning goals and not on

performance outcomes; this reduces students' feelings of helplessness (Dweck, 1986). Similarly, teachingstudents specific study techniques (e.g., using flashcards, seeking social assistance, highlighting, color coding)may be beneficial for students with LD (Zimmerman &Martinez-Pons, 1986). Because students with LD do havethe capacity to take credit for their achievements (Tur-Kaspa &Bryan, 1993), teaching them to develop positiveattributions of success and failure might be a particularly helpful learning strategy (Borkowski, Wyhing, &Carr,1988). When students do not do well in school, teachers should focus on their students' lack of effort and not on theirlack of ability (Robertson, 2000). Furthermore, inservice and professional development training for teachersabout specific strategies for following each child's Individualized Education Program and modifying the generaleducation curriculum so that students with LD, especially LD in multiple academic areas, experience successmay be another promising strategy. Limitations Several limitations must be considered when interpreting these data. First, all dependent variables were basedon BASC-SRP, and comparisons of self-report measures with teacher or parent reports about the students'actual social support networks would have provided additional validity to the self-reports. A second limitationwas the great variability in the severity of LD represented in the sample. The discrepancy method defines alearning disability as a minimum 16-point difference between ability and achievement. Ability-achievementdiscrepancies in this sample ranged from -16 to -43 points. Similarly, the use of different intelligence andachievement measures across participants may have influenced whether a student was included in one groupversus another or not at all. For example, a student's IQ score on one ability test (e.g., one that is known toinflate general or full scale scores) may qualify a student for LD in a particular area (e.g., reading); however, thesame student's IQ score on a different ability test might result in a commensurate ability-achievement score,failing to qualify the same student for LD. This highlights one of the chief arguments in the literature against theuse of the discrepancy model to define LD. Footnote NOTE The discrepancy-based definition used to operationalize LD is the most frequently used method in educationalpractice and research investigations in the United States (Frankenberger &Fronzaglio, 1991). Despite itswidespread use, discussions casting doubt on the validity of the discrepancy definition have been consistent inthe literature (e.g., Stanovich &Siegel, 1994). References REFERENCES Achenbach, T. M. (1985). Manual for the Youth Self-Report. Burlington: University of Vermont, Department ofPsychiatry. Altenbaugh, R. J, Engel, D. E., &Martin, D. T. (1995). Caring for kids: A critical study of urban school leavers.Washington, DC: Palmer Press. Arthur, A. R. (2003). The emotional lives of people with learning disability. British Journal of LearningDisabilities, 31, 25-31. Bear, G. G., Clever, A., &Proctor, W. A. (1991). Self-perceptions of nonhandicapped children and children withlearning disabilities in integrated classes. The Journal of Special Education, 24, 409-426. Bear, G. G., Juvonen, J., &McInerney, F. (1993). Self-perceptions and peer relations of boys with and boyswithout learning disabilities in an integrated setting: A longitudinal study. Learning Disability Quarterly, 16, 127-136. Bear, G. G., Minke, K. M., &Manning, M. A. (2002). Self-concept of students with learning disabilities: A meta-analysis. School Psychology Review, 31, 405-427. Bender, W. N., Rosenkrans, C. B., &Crane, M. (1999). Stress, depression, and suicide among students with

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Sattler, J. (1988). Assessment of children (3rd ed). San Diego: Author. Sorensen, L. G., Forbes, P. W., Bernstein, J. H., Weiler, M. D., Mitchell, W. M., &Waber, D. P. (2003).Psychosocial adjustment over a two-year period in children referred for learning problems: Risk, resilience, andadaptation. Learning Disabilities Research &Practice, 18, 10-25. Stanovich, K. E., &Siegel, L. S. (1994). Phenotypic performance profile of children with dyslexia: A regression-based test of the phonological-core variable-difference model. Journal of Educational Psychology, 86, 24-53. Strang, J. D., &Rourke, B. P. (1985). Adaptive behavior of children who exhibit specific arithmetic disabilitiesand associated neuropsychological abilities and deficits. In B. P. Rourke (Ed.), Neuropsychology of learningdisabilities: Essentials of subtype analysis (pp. 302-328). New York: Guilford Press. Swanson, H. L. (1994). The role of working memory and dynamic assessment in the classification of childrenwith learning disabilities. Learning Disabilities Research &Practice, 9, 190-202 Tur-Kaspa, H., &Bryan, T. (1993). Social attributions of students with learning disabilities. Exceptionality, 4, 229-244. U.S. Department of Education. (1997). Nine-teenth annual report to Congress on the implementation of theIndividuals with Disabilities Education Act. Washington, DC: Author. U.S. Department of Education. (1998). Twentieth annual report to Congress on the implementation of theIndividuals with Disabilities Education Act. Washington, DC: Author. Wechsler, D. (1991). Wechsler intelligence scale for children-Revised. New York: Psychological Corp. Wong, B. Y. (2003). General and specific issues for researchers' consideration in applying the risk andresilience framework to the social domain of learning disabilities. Learning Disabilities Research &Practice, 18,68-77. Zimmerman, B. J., &Martinez-Pons, M. (1986). Development of a structured interview for assessing student useof self-regulated learning strategies. American Educational Research Journal, 23, 614-628. AuthorAffiliation ABOUT THE AUTHORS Rebecca S. Martinez, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Counseling and EducationalPsychology at Indiana University. Dr. Martinez is a graduate of the School Psychology Program at theUniversity of Texas at Austin. Her research interests include the psychosocial adjustment of adolescents withLD and attitudes toward inclusion. Margaret Semrud-Clikeman, PhD, is a professor in the Department ofEducational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. She is also director of the School PsychologyProgram. Dr. Semrud-Clikeman has written extensively in the field of learning disabilities, ADHD, and childneuropsychology. Address: Rebecca S. Martinez, Indiana University, School Psychology Program, 201 NorthRose, Room 4012, Bloomington, IN 47405-1006; e-mail: rma@indiana.edu AUTHORS' NOTE This article is based on the doctoral dissertation submitted by the first author (under the direction of the secondauthor) to the graduate school of the University of Texas at Austin. Subject: Learning disabilities; Gender differences; Adjustment; Emotions; Social psychology; Academic failure;Middle school students; MeSH: Adolescent, Affective Symptoms -- diagnosis, Child, Depression -- diagnosis, Depression -- psychology,Dyslexia -- diagnosis, Dyslexia -- psychology, Female, Humans, Learning Disorders -- diagnosis, Male,Mathematics, Peer Group, Personality Inventory, Self Concept, Social Adjustment, Adaptation, Psychological(major), Affective Symptoms -- psychology (major), Educational Status (major), Learning Disorders --psychology (major) Publication title: Journal of Learning Disabilities

Volume: 37 Issue: 5 Pages: 411-20 Number of pages: 10 Publication year: 2004 Publication date: Sep/Oct 2004 Year: 2004 Publisher: SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC. Place of publication: Austin Country of publication: United States Publication subject: Education--Special Education And Rehabilitation, Psychology, Medical Sciences ISSN: 00222194 CODEN: JLDIAD Source type: Scholarly Journals Language of publication: English Document type: Comparative Study Document feature: Tables References Accession number: 15460348 ProQuest document ID: 194228037 Document URL:http://search.proquest.com.ezaccess.library.uitm.edu.my/docview/194228037?accountid=42518 Copyright: Copyright PRO-ED Journals Sep/Oct 2004 Last updated: 2013-08-22 Database: Arts & Humanities Full Text

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