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5.1: Definitions of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

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    Emotional and behavioral disorders is an umbrella term that includes psychological disorders impacting students’ behavior, emotions, and moods. The terminology used to describe this disability category is subject to debate. The term emotional disturbance is used in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Illinois uses the term emotional disability, and other states use various terms. However, many professionals advocate using the term emotional or behavioral disorders (Smiley et al., 2022).

    The IDEA Definition

    The IDEA of 2004 defines emotional disturbances thus:

    1. Emotional disturbance means a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child’s educational performance:
      1. An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.
      2. An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.
      3. Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.
      4. A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
      5. A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.

    Emotional disturbance includes schizophrenia. The term does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted unless it is determined that they have an emotional disturbance (IDEA, Part B, Subpart A § 300.8(c)(4)(2004))

    The IDEA definition is often referred to as vague (Theodore et al., 2004) and lacking any mention of specific negative behaviors (e.g., aggression) (Smiley et al., 2022).

    The Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders Definition

    The Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders (CCBD) is a Special Interest Division of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). The CCBD is an advocacy group for children with emotional and behavioral disorders and uses the following characteristics to define students with emotional disturbance:

    • Hyperactivity (short attention span, impulsiveness)
    • Aggression or self-injurious behavior (acting out, fighting)
    • Withdrawal (not interacting socially with others, excessive fear or anxiety)
    • Immaturity (inappropriate crying, temper tantrums, poor coping skills)
    • Learning difficulties (academically performing below grade level) (CCBD, 2022)

    The CCBD also points to general categories of psychological disorders, including schizophrenia spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, obsessive–compulsive disorders, eating disorders, and disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders as causes of this disability category.

    The APA Definition

    The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) of the American Psychiatric Association defines each of the psychological disorders associated with the term emotional and behavioral disorders. This includes schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders, bipolar and related disorders, depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, obsessive–compulsive disorders, feeding and eating disorders, and disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders. There are too many specific psychological disorders to define and describe their diagnostic criteria for the purposes of this chapter. However, general definitions are included below.

    Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders

    Schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders include schizophrenia, other psychotic disorders, and schizotypal (personality disorder). They are defined by abnormalities in one or more of the following five domains: delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking (speech), grossly disorganized or abnormal motor behavior (including catatonia (i.e., inability to move normally), and negative symptoms (e.g., diminished emotional expression and decreased motivation) (DSM-5-TR, 2022, p. 101).

    Bipolar and Related Disorders

    Bipolar and related disorders include bipolar I disorder, bipolar II disorder, cyclothymic disorder, substance/medication-induced bipolar and related disorders, bipolar and related disorder due to another medical condition, other specific bipolar and related disorder, and unspecified bipolar and related disorder. Depending on the specific disorder, students may experience episodes of mania or hypomania (i.e., periods of overactive and excited behavior), major depressive episodes, and instability of moods (DSM-5-TR, 2022, p. 139).

    Depressive Disorders

    Depressive disorders include disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, major depressive disorder (including major depressive episodes), persistent depressive disorder, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, substance/medication-induced depressive disorder, depressive disorder due to another medical condition, other specified depressive disorder, and unspecified depressive disorder. The common feature of all these disorders is the presence of sad, empty, or irritable mood, accompanied by related changes that significantly affect the individual’s capacity to function (e.g., somatic and cognitive changes in major depressive disorder and persistent depressive disorder). What differs among them are issues of duration, timing, or presumed etiology (i.e., cause) (DSM-5-TR, 2022, p. 177).

    Anxiety Disorders

    Anxiety disorders include disorders that share features of excessive fear and anxiety and related behavioral disturbances. Anxiety disorders differ from one another in the types of objects or situations that induce fear, anxiety, or avoidance behavior. Anxiety disorders differ from developmentally normative fear or anxiety by being excessive or persisting beyond developmentally appropriate periods. In addition, many anxiety disorders develop in childhood and tend to persist if not treated (DSM-5-TR, 2022, p. 215).

    Obsessive–Compulsive Disorders

    Obsessive–compulsive disorders include obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), body dysmorphic disorder, hoarding disorder, trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder), excoriation (skin-picking) disorder, substance/medication-induced obsessive–compulsive and related disorder, obsessive–compulsive and related disorder due to another medical condition, other specified obsessive–compulsive and related disorder (e.g., nail biting, lip biting, check chewing, obsessional jealousy, olfactory reference disorder), and unspecified obsessive and related disorder.

    OCD is characterized by the presence of obsession, compulsion, or both. Obsessions are recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges, or images that are experienced as intrusive and unwanted, whereas compulsions are repetitive behaviors or mental acts that an individual feels driven to perform in response to an obsession or according to rules that must be applied rigidly. Some other obsessive–compulsive and related disorders are characterized primarily by recurrent body-focused repetitive behaviors (e.g., hair pulling) and repeated attempts to decrease or stop the behaviors (DSM-5-TR, 2022, p. 263).

    Feeding and Eating Disorders

    Feeding and eating disorders are characterized by a persistent disturbance of eating or eating-related behavior that results in the altered consumption or absorption of food and that significantly impairs physical health or psychosocial functioning. Disorders include pica, rumination disorder, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder (DSM-5-TR, 2022, p. 371).

    Disruptive, Impulse-Control, and Conduct Disorders

    Disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders include conditions involving problems in the self-control of emotions and behaviors. While other psychological disorders may also involve problems in emotional or behavioral regulation, these disorders are unique in that they are manifested in behaviors that violate the rights of others (e.g., aggression, destruction of property) or that bring the individual into significant conflict with societal norms or authority figures. Disorders include oppositional defiant disorder, intermittent explosive disorder, conduct disorder, antisocial personality disorder, pyromania, kleptomania, and other specific and unspecified disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders (DSM-5-TR, 2022, p. 521).

    This is the primary classification system used for students with emotional or behavioral disorders. Although clinicians such as clinical psychologists, school psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers have training in this medical classification system, students are often referred to clinical psychologists or psychiatrists to receive an official medical diagnosis. Educators are not trained to diagnose or treat psychological disorders.

    The Illinois Definition of Emotional Disability

    “Emotional Disability (includes schizophrenia but does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have an emotional disturbance) means a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child’s educational performance:

    • An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors;
    • An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers;
    • Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances;
    • A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression; or
    • A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems​” (Illinois State Board of Education, 2022).

    Smiley, L. R., Richards, S.B., & Taylor, R. (2022). Exceptional students: Preparing teachers for the 21st century (4th ed.). McGraw Hill.

    Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, Part B, Subpart A § 300.8(c)(4)(2004).

    The Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders. (2022, October 2). Behavior disorders: Definitions, characteristics & related Information. https://debh.exceptionalchildren.org/behavior-disorders-definitions-characteristics-related-information

    American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed. Text Revision). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596

    Illinois State Board of Education. (2022, September 27). Special education disability areas. https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Special-Education-Disability-Areas.aspx

    This page titled 5.1: Definitions of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Diana Zaleski (Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI)) .