The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED)

Name: The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED)
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Author: Mohammed looti

Mohammed looti

The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED)

By Mohammed looti / October 24, 2025

Abstract

The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED) is a validated, 41-item instrument designed for the rapid screening and assessment of various anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. Developed by Boris Birmaher and colleagues, the scale is available in both child self-report and parent-report versions, facilitating a multi-informant approach to clinical evaluation. The SCARED measures symptoms across five distinct anxiety domains, providing valuable differential diagnostic information for conditions such as Panic Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Social Anxiety Disorder.

Keywords

Child anxiety, SCARED, screening tool, anxiety assessment, pediatric mental health, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Separation Anxiety Disorder, Social Phobia, school refusal.

Authors

Boris Birmaher, Suneeta Khetarpal, Marlane Cully, David Brent, Sandra McKenzie.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED) is to identify the presence and severity of anxiety disorders in youth, helping clinicians and researchers isolate potential problems early to ensure timely intervention. The instrument is intended strictly as a screening tool, not a definitive diagnostic measure, and is designed to flag children who require a more detailed clinical interview and diagnostic workup.

Its dual format—a version for the child and a parallel version for the parent—is crucial. This allows for the comparison of symptoms reported by the child’s internal experience versus those observed externally by a caregiver, which is essential given that children may lack the insight or vocabulary to fully express their internal distress.

Construct

The SCARED is structured to assess symptoms corresponding to five major categories of anxiety often observed in childhood, mapping closely to criteria outlined in standard diagnostic manuals like the DSM. By utilizing specific subscales, the instrument provides a profile of the child’s anxiety presentation rather than just a global score.

The five distinct psychological constructs measured by the scale are: Panic Disorder/Somatic Symptoms, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Separation Anxiety Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia), and School Avoidance (or School Phobia).

Validity

The validity of the SCARED is strongly supported by the extensive psychometric properties evaluation conducted during its development and subsequent replication studies. The foundational research by Birmaher et al. (1999) established that the scale possesses strong construct validity, demonstrating that the five-factor structure reliably measures the intended anxiety constructs in both clinical and community samples.

The instrument has proven effective in differentiating between children diagnosed with specific anxiety disorders and those in non-anxious control groups, confirming its utility as a reliable screening mechanism in clinical settings. Furthermore, its validity is enhanced by the dual-report format, which allows for triangulation of data between the child and the parental perspective.

Reliability

The reliability of the SCARED is generally high across both reporter versions. The scale exhibits robust internal consistency, indicating that the 41 items consistently measure the underlying construct of anxiety. The high reliability coefficients reported in the literature confirm that the instrument is a stable and trustworthy measure for clinical and research applications involving pediatric anxiety disorders.

Factor Analysis

The SCARED is based on a robust five-factor structure derived from factor analytic studies. This structure allows for differential scoring, which is clinically informative beyond a simple total anxiety score. The items load onto the following specific factors, which correspond to distinct anxiety diagnoses:

Panic Disorder/Significant Somatic Symptoms: Items 1, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 19, 22, 24, 27, 30, 34, 38. (Cutoff for significance: ≥ 7)
Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Items 5, 7, 14, 21, 23, 28, 33, 35, 37. (Cutoff for significance: ≥ 9)
Separation Anxiety Disorder: Items 4, 8, 13, 16, 20, 25, 29, 31. (Cutoff for significance: ≥ 5)
Social Anxiety Disorder: Items 3, 10, 26, 32, 39, 40, 41. (Cutoff for significance: ≥ 8)
Significant School Avoidance: Items 2, 11, 17, 36. (Cutoff for significance: ≥ 3)

A total score of ≥ 25 across all domains suggests the presence of an anxiety disorder, with scores exceeding 30 being highly specific indicators of clinical concern.

Instrument

Test Type: Screening Inventory/Rating Scale (Self-report and Parent-report)

Format: 41-item inventory rated on a 3-point Likert-type scale (0=Not True, 1=Somewhat True, 2=Very True).

Language Available: English (Numerous translations have been validated internationally).

Population Group: Children and adolescents suspected of having anxiety disorders.

Age Group: Typically used for youth aged 8 to 18 years old.

Population Details: Appropriate for use in clinical, educational, and research settings to screen for clinically significant anxiety symptoms.

Test Methodology: Respondents rate the frequency or truthfulness of statements describing feelings or behaviors over the past three months.

Keywords

Psychological screening, Likert scale, separation anxiety, panic attack, school phobia, child psychiatry, emotional disorders, clinical cutoff.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A

Affiliation Email addresses: [email protected]

Correspondence Address: Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh (U Pgh).

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The SCARED was developed in October 1995. It is commonly used globally in clinical practice and research. Users should typically contact the primary institution (Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh) or the authors for formal usage permissions, although the instrument is often distributed freely for academic and non-commercial clinical use.

Reference’s

Birmaher, B., Brent, D. A., Chiappetta, L., Bridge, J., Monga, S., & Baugher, M. (1999). Psychometric properties of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED): A replication study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38(10), 1230–6.

Items of the The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED)

The following content presents the structure of the SCARED scale, including the instructions and sample items for both the Child and Parent versions, as originally designed by the authors.

Child Version – Page 1 of 2 (To be filled out by the CHILD)

Name:

Date:

Directions:

Below is a list of sentences that describe how people feel. Read each phrase and decide if it is “Not True or Hardly Ever True” or “Somewhat True or Sometimes True” or “Very True or Often True” for you. Then for each sentence, fill in one circle that corresponds to the response that seems to describe you for the last 3 months.

		0 Not True or Hardly Ever True	1 Somewhat True or Sometimes True	2 Very True or Often True
1.	When I feel frightened, it is hard for me to breathe	o	o	o
2.	I get headaches when I am at school	o	o	o
3.	I don’t like to be with people I don’t know well	o	o	o
4.	I get scared if I sleep away from home	o	o	o
5.	I worry about other people liking me	o	o	o
6.	When I get frightened, I feel like passing out	o	o	o
7.	I am nervous	o	o	o
8.	I follow my mother or father wherever they go	o	o	o
9.	People tell me that I look nervous	o	o	o
10.	I feel nervous with people I don’t know well	o	o	o
11.	My I get stomachaches at school	o	o	o
12.	When I get frightened, I feel like I am going crazy	o	o	o
13.	I worry about sleeping alone	o	o	o
14.	I worry about being as good as other kids	o	o	o
15.	When I get frightened, I feel like things are not real	o	o	o
16.	I have nightmares about something bad happening to my par- ents	o	o	o
17.	I worry about going to school	o	o	o
18.	When I get frightened, my heart beats fast	o	o	o
19.	I get shaky	o	o	o
20.	I have nightmares about something bad happening to me	o	o	o

Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED)

Child Version – Page 2 of 2 (To be filled out by the CHILD)

		0 Not True or Hardly Ever True	1 Somewhat True or Sometimes True	2 Very True or Often True
21.	I worry about things working out for me	o	o	o
22.	When I get frightened, I sweat a lot	o	o	o
23.	I am a worrier	o	o	o
24.	I get really frightened for no reason at all	o	o	o
25.	I am afraid to be alone in the house	o	o	o
26.	It is hard for me to talk with people I don’t know well	o	o	o
27.	When I get frightened, I feel like I am choking	o	o	o
28.	People tell me that I worry too much	o	o	o
29.	I don’t like to be away from my family	o	o	o
30.	I am afraid of having anxiety (or panic) attacks	o	o	o
31.	I worry that something bad might happen to my parents	o	o	o
32.	I feel shy with people I don’t know well	o	o	o
33.	I worry about what is going to happen in the future	o	o	o
34.	When I get frightened, I feel like throwing up	o	o	o
35.	I worry about how well I do things	o	o	o
36.	I am scared to go to school	o	o	o
37.	I worry about things that have already happened	o	o	o
38.	When I get frightened, I feel dizzy	o	o	o
39.	I feel nervous when I am with other children or adults and I have to do something while they watch me (for example: read aloud, speak, play a game, play a sport)	o	o	o
40.	I feel nervous when I am going to parties, dances, or any place where there will be people that I don’t know well	o	o	o
41.	I am shy	o	o	o

*For children ages 8 to 11, it is recommended that the clinician explain all questions, or have the child answer the questionnaire sitting with an adult in case they have any questions.

Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED)

Parent Version – Page 1 of 2 (To be filled out by the PARENT)

Name:

Date:

Directions:

Below is a list of statements that describe how people feel. Read each statement carefully and decide if it is “Not True or Hardly Ever True” or “Somewhat True or Sometimes True” or “Very True or Often True” for your child. Then for each statement, fill in one circle that corresponds to the response that seems to describe your child for the last 3 months. Please respond to all statements as well as you can, even if some do not seem to concern your child.

		0 Not True or Hardly Ever True	1 Somewhat True or Sometimes True	2 Very True or Often True
1.	When my child feels frightened, it is hard for him/her to breathe	o	o	o
2.	My child gets headaches when he/she is at school	o	o	o
3.	My child doesn’t like to be with people he/she doesn’t know well	o	o	o
4.	My child gets scared if he/she sleeps away from home	o	o	o
5.	My child worries about other people liking him/her	o	o	o
6.	When my child gets frightened, he/she feels like passing out	o	o	o
7.	My child is nervous	o	o	o
8.	My child follows me wherever I go	o	o	o
9.	People tell me that my child looks nervous	o	o	o
10.	My child feels nervous with people he/she doesn’t know well	o	o	o
11.	My child gets stomachaches at school	o	o	o
12.	When my child gets frightened, he/she feels like he/she is going crazy	o	o	o
13.	My child worries about sleeping alone	o	o	o
14.	My child worries about being as good as other kids	o	o	o
15.	When he/she gets frightened, he/she feels like things are not real	o	o	o
16.	My child has nightmares about something bad happening to his/her parents	o	o	o
17.	My child worries about going to school	o	o	o
18.	When my child gets frightened, his/her heart beats fast	o	o	o
19.	He/she gets shaky	o	o	o
20.	My child has nightmares about something bad happening to him/her	o	o	o

Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED)

Parent Version – Page 2 of 2 (To be filled out by the PARENT)

		0 Not True or Hardly Ever True	1 Somewhat True or Sometimes True	2 Very True or Often True
21.	My child worries about things working out for him/her	o	o	o
22.	When my child gets frightened, he/she sweats a lot	o	o	o
23.	My child is a worrier	o	o	o
24.	My child gets really frightened for no reason at all	o	o	o
25.	My child is afraid to be alone in the house	o	o	o
26.	It is hard for my child to talk with people he/she doesn’t know well	o	o	o
27.	When my child gets frightened, he/she feels like he/she is choking	o	o	o
28.	People tell me that my child worries too much	o	o	o
29.	My child doesn’t like to be away from his/her family	o	o	o
30.	My child is afraid of having anxiety (or panic) attacks	o	o	o
31.	My child worries that something bad might happen to his/her parents	o	o	o
32.	My child feels shy with people he/she doesn’t know well	o	o	o
33.	My child worries about what is going to happen in the future	o	o	o
34.	When my child gets frightened, he/she feels like throwing up	o	o	o
35.	My child worries about how well he/she does things	o	o	o
36.	My child is scared to go to school	o	o	o
37.	My child worries about things that have already happened	o	o	o
38.	When my child gets frightened, he/she feels dizzy	o	o	o
39.	My child feels nervous when he/she is with other children or adults and he/she has to do something while they watch him/her (for example: read aloud, speak, play a game, play a sport)	o	o	o
40.	My child feels nervous when he/she is going to parties, dances, or any place where there will be people that he/she doesn’t know well	o	o	o
41.	My child is shy	o	o	o

Developed by Boris Birmaher, MD, Suneeta Khetarpal, MD, Marlane Cully, MEd, David Brent, MD, and Sandra McKenzie, PhD. Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pgh. (10/95). Email: [email protected]

SCARED Rating Scale Scoring Aide

Use with Parent and Child Versions

0 = not true or hardly true
1 = somewhat true or sometimes true 2 = very true or often true

SCORING

A total score of ≥ 25 may indicate the presence of an anxiety disorder. Scores higher than 30 are more specific.
A score of 7 for items 1, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 19, 22, 24, 27, 30, 34, 38 may indicate panic disorder or Significant Somatic Symptoms.
A score of 9 for items 5, 7, 14, 21, 23, 28, 33, 35, 37 may indicate Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
A score of 5 for items 4, 8, 13, 16, 20, 25, 29, 31 may indicate Separation Anxiety Disorder.
A score of 8 for items 3, 10, 26, 32, 39, 40, 41 may indicate Social Anxiety Disorder.
A score of 3 for items 2, 11, 17, 36 may indicate Significant School Avoidance.

Total anxiety ≥ 25

Cite this article

APAMLACHICAGOHARVARDIEEEAMA

Mohammed looti (2025). The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED). Psychological Scales & Instruments Database. Retrieved from https://db.arabpsychology.com/scales/the-screen-for-child-anxiety-related-disorders-scared/

Mohammed looti. "The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED)." Psychological Scales & Instruments Database, 24 Oct. 2025, https://db.arabpsychology.com/scales/the-screen-for-child-anxiety-related-disorders-scared/.

Mohammed looti. "The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED)." Psychological Scales & Instruments Database, 2025. https://db.arabpsychology.com/scales/the-screen-for-child-anxiety-related-disorders-scared/.

Mohammed looti (2025) 'The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED)', Psychological Scales & Instruments Database. Available at: https://db.arabpsychology.com/scales/the-screen-for-child-anxiety-related-disorders-scared/.

[1] Mohammed looti, "The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED)," Psychological Scales & Instruments Database, vol. X, no. Y, ص Z-Z, October, 2025.

Mohammed looti. The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED). Psychological Scales & Instruments Database. 2025;vol(issue):pages.