This descriptive study was conducted to examine the social lives of children with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) whose education occurred in segregated elementary school classrooms. The principal data were obtained from detailed interviews with 14 children with E/BD, and 14 matched comparison children from general education classrooms. Major findings indicated that the children with E/BD had little opportunity to engage in integrated school activities and their social networks in school were dominated by children and adults affiliated with special education. In contrast, the social networks of the same children in their homes and neighborhoods were similar in size and constellation to the networks of the general education children. In addition, children with E/BD identified their important friends as being from their home networks, whereas the general education children's important friends came from school. The results have implications for educational placements and future research.
