Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders, Parent Version

Childhood anxiety often presents across multiple overlapping domains, making differential assessment a priority.

Questions: 41
Duration: 10 min
Original title: Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders — Parent Version (41 items)
Adaptation: Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders, Parent Version
Authors: Birmaher, B., Khetarpal, S., Cully, M., Brent, D., & McKenzie, S.
Created: 1997 (version originale 38 items) ; 1999 (version révisée 41 items)

Childhood anxiety often presents across multiple overlapping domains, making differential assessment a priority. The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) is a 41-item validated measure that helps clinicians structure this evaluation. When caregivers report on their child's presentation, clinicians gain crucial data to identify potential generalized anxiety, separation fears, or early signs of a panic disorder.

This parent-report version is designed for youth aged 8 to 18. By administering it alongside the self-report youth version, practitioners can triangulate clinical impressions and detect discrepancies between internalizing symptoms and observable behaviors. The resulting profile clarifies whether the primary clinical target lies in somatic reactivity, worry, or social withdrawal, supporting evidence-based treatment planning.

Example result

Fictitious result, computed from a sample set of answers.

Overall score

40/ 82

The SCARED is a parent-completed screening questionnaire for children and adolescents aged 8 to 18 years. It assesses anxiety symptoms observed in the child over the past 3 months across 41 items covering five DSM dimensions: panic disorder / somatic symptoms, generalized anxiety, separation anxiety, social phobia, and school avoidance. It provides a total score and five subscale scores to help guide diagnosis and monitor symptom progression.

cliniquemixed · pathology: emotional and/or behavioral difficulties · 4–9 years · United Kingdom · n = 233 · 2024 · Scoberg et al. (2024)

082

M = 20.03 ± 14.4

For information

Cut-off≥ 17Probable Anxiety Disorder

Cutoff proposed for a Spanish non-clinical population.

Canals et al. (2012)View the study ↗

Scoring

Sum (total score and subscale sums), total score ranging from 0 to 82, each item scored on a 3-point scale (from 0 to 2).

Generalized anxiety

8/ 18

Assesses excessive and uncontrollable worry across various domains, such as the future, academic performance, or fear of making mistakes.

items 5, 7, 14, 21, 23, 28, 33, 35, 37

cliniquemixed · pathology: emotional and/or behavioral difficulties · 4–9 years · United Kingdom · n = 233 · 2024 · Scoberg et al. (2024)

018

M = 5.13 ± 4.21

Panic disorder / somatic symptoms

17/ 26

Assesses somatic and physical symptoms related to anxiety and panic, such as feelings of choking, stomachaches, or breathing difficulties.

items 1, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 19, 22, 24, 27, 30, 34, 38

cliniquemixed · pathology: emotional and/or behavioral difficulties · 4–9 years · United Kingdom · n = 233 · 2024 · Scoberg et al. (2024)

026

M = 3.18 ± 4.18

School avoidance

5/ 8

Measures fear and anxiety specifically related to attending school, which may lead to school refusal.

items 2, 11, 17, 36

cliniquemixed · pathology: emotional and/or behavioral difficulties · 4–9 years · United Kingdom · n = 233 · 2024 · Scoberg et al. (2024)

M = 1.45 ± 1.72

Separation anxiety

3/ 16

Measures excessive fear and distress related to separation from attachment figures (typically parents).

items 4, 8, 13, 16, 20, 25, 29, 31

cliniquemixed · pathology: emotional and/or behavioral difficulties · 4–9 years · United Kingdom · n = 233 · 2024 · Scoberg et al. (2024)

016

M = 5.25 ± 4.03

Social phobia

7/ 14

Assesses intense and persistent fear of social or performance situations, as well as fear of being scrutinized or judged by others.

items 3, 10, 26, 32, 39, 40, 41

cliniquemixed · pathology: emotional and/or behavioral difficulties · 4–9 years · United Kingdom · n = 233 · 2024 · Scoberg et al. (2024)

014

M = 5.03 ± 3.93

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What the test measures

The SCARED multidimensional structure maps pediatric anxiety symptoms onto five empirically derived factors. This framework clarifies the specific shape of the child's distress, ensuring targeted clinical focus.

Panic and somatic symptoms: Captures acute physical reactivity, autonomic arousal, and fears of losing control.
Generalized anxiety: Measures pervasive worry, performance anxiety, and the shifting concerns typical of a generalized anxiety disorder.
Separation anxiety: Assesses distress regarding attachment figures, fears of harm, and reluctance to be alone, aligning with the core markers of a separation anxiety disorder.
Social phobia: Tracks performance fears, shyness, and avoidance of unfamiliar peers, core to social anxiety disorder.
School avoidance: Identifies specific reluctance, somatic complaints on school mornings, and anxiety triggered by the academic environment.

This parent-reported symptom breakdown supports a focused case formulation for youth aged 8 to 18 presenting with complex, overlapping fears.

When and why to use it

Routinely integrating the parent version of the SCARED enhances diagnostic clarity and provides a stable metric for longitudinal care. A validated rating scale offers a structured baseline that qualitative interviewing alone may not fully capture.

Multimodal intake assessment: Collects systematic caretaker observations to cross-reference against the child's own self-report and the clinician's direct observation.
Differential symptom mapping: Helps isolate primary anxiety drivers, for instance distinguishing the school refusal fueled by a specific phobia from one rooted in separation distress.
Progress monitoring: Provides a quantifiable metric to track changes over time, helping clinicians evaluate if interventions are effectively reducing the child's tension.
Psychoeducational anchoring: Offers a concrete symptom profile to review with parents, validating their observations while organizing complex behaviors into clear clinical targets.

Using this instrument ensures the treatment plan remains anchored in objective, domain-specific data throughout the episode of care, adding precision beyond standard clinical impression.

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The questions

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, choose 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.
1. When my child is scared, he/she has trouble breathing.
Probes respiratory manifestations of acute autonomic arousal.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
2. My child gets headaches when he/she is at school.
Assesses somatic complaints specifically linked to the academic environment.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
3. My child doesn't like being with people he/she doesn't know well.
Evaluates the child's comfort and avoidance levels around unfamiliar individuals.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
4. My child is scared when he/she has to sleep away from home.
Screens for distress associated with overnight separation from the primary home environment.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
5. My child often wonders if other people like him/her.
Captures interpersonal worry and hyper-concern regarding social acceptance.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
6. When my child is scared, he/she feels like he/she is going to faint.
Identifies feelings of presyncope during episodes of high anxiety.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
7. My child is nervous.
Provides a general assessment of the child's baseline tension and nervousness.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
8. My child follows me wherever I go.
Highlights proximity-seeking behaviors indicative of attachment-related distress.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
9. People say my child seems nervous.
Examines the observable, outward manifestations of the child's tension.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
10. My child feels nervous with people he/she doesn't know well.
Focuses on situational nervousness triggered by novel social interactions.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
11. My child gets a stomachache at school.
Tracks gastrointestinal reactivity associated with school attendance.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
12. When my child is scared, he/she feels like he/she is going crazy.
Probes cognitive distortions and fears of losing mental control during panic.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
13. My child worries about sleeping alone.
Assesses specific nighttime separation fears and reluctance to sleep independently.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
14. My child worries about being as good as other children.
Measures performance-related anxiety and comparative social worry.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
15. When my child is scared, he/she feels like things are not real.
Screens for derealization or dissociative sensations during acute fear.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
16. My child has nightmares about something bad happening to his/her parents.
Identifies morbid thematic content in dreams concerning the safety of caregivers.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
17. My child worries about going to school.
Captures anticipatory distress regarding attending the educational environment.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
18. When my child is scared, his/her heart beats fast.
Assesses cardiac symptoms during moments of acute fright.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
19. My child is shaky.
Highlights somatic tremors and physical shaking associated with high anxiety.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
20. My child has nightmares about something bad happening to him/her.
Probes nocturnal anxiety and dreams focused on personal harm.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
21. My child worries about things working out for him/her.
Evaluates pervasive apprehension about future outcomes and general success.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
22. When my child is scared, he/she sweats a lot.
Tracks hyperhidrosis or excessive sweating as a marker of autonomic arousal.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
23. My child is someone who worries a lot.
Identifies a pervasive trait-like tendency toward rumination and excessive concern.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
24. My child gets very scared for no particular reason.
Screens for the spontaneous, un-triggered onset of severe fear typical of panic.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
25. My child is afraid of being home alone.
Assesses distress triggered by physical isolation within the home setting.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
26. It is difficult for my child to talk to people he/she doesn't know well.
Highlights verbal inhibition and communication difficulties with unfamiliar people.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
27. When my child is scared, he/she feels like he/she is choking.
Probes the sensation of restricted airways during episodes of intense anxiety.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
28. People tell my child that he/she worries too much.
Captures the external recognition of the child's disproportionate rumination by others.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
29. My child doesn't like being away from his/her family.
Evaluates the fundamental reluctance to detach from the primary family unit.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
30. My child is afraid of having anxiety attacks (panic attacks).
Identifies secondary anxiety or anticipatory fear regarding the onset of panic attacks.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
31. My child worries that something bad might happen to his/her parents.
Measures catastrophic worry concerning the health and safety of primary attachment figures.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
32. My child feels shy with people he/she doesn't know well.
Assesses behavioral inhibition and timidity in novel interpersonal situations.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
33. My child worries about what will happen in the future.
Captures anticipatory anxiety and pervasive concerns about upcoming events.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
34. When my child is scared, he/she feels sick to his/her stomach.
Tracks gastrointestinal distress and nausea linked to acute episodes of fear.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
35. My child worries about the way he/she does things.
Highlights perfectionistic concerns and performance anxiety regarding daily tasks.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
36. My child is afraid of going to school.
Identifies acute fear and potential refusal behaviors directed at school attendance.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
37. My child worries about things that have already happened.
Probes retrospective rumination and worry over past events.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
38. When my child is scared, he/she feels dizzy.
Assesses vestibular symptoms and dizziness accompanying sudden fright.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
39. My child feels nervous when he/she is with other children or adults and has to do something in front of them (e.g., read aloud, talk, play a game, play sports).
Evaluates performance anxiety triggered by being observed or evaluated by others.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
40. My child feels nervous going to parties, evening events, or any place where there will be people he/she doesn't know well.
Screens for anticipatory nervousness surrounding unstructured social gatherings.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true
41. My child is shy.
Captures the parent's overall assessment of the child's trait behavioral inhibition.
- Not true or almost never true
- Somewhat true or sometimes true
- Very true or often true