Risk factors associated with the unsuccessful discharge from a secondary-level therapeutic day treatment program of students with serious emotional/behavioral disorders (E/BD) were studied. The use of epidemiologic analysis as a program evaluation method was also investigated by comparing risks associated with identified characteristics of the E/BD population to program completion status. Results from a sample of 134 E/BD students indicated significant differences in successful program completion related to individual variables, specifically student substance abuse and involvement with Juvenile Services. It was also found that the additive effects of several variable pairs greatly increased the risk of unsuccessful program outcomes. The variable pairs identified as relating to the highest risk of unsuccessful outcomes, as high as seven times more likely to be unsuccessful, included being: (1) female and Caucasian; (2) female and truant; (3) female and a substance abuser; (4) female and involved with Juvenile Services; (5) Black and male; (6) Caucasian and a substance abuser; (7) Caucasian and involved with Juvenile Services; and (8) truant and a substance abuser. Implications for E/BD program development and epidemiologic analysis are explored. (Contains 4 tables and 21 references.) (Author/SLD)