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Free Online SCARED Parent Questionnaire (Child Anxiety Screening)

The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) is the standard anxiety screener for children and teens aged 8 to 18. This is the parent version: you answer about your child. There is a matching version your child can take.

Important Disclaimer

This screening tool is for educational purposes and is not a diagnosis. It is designed for children and teenagers aged about 8 to 18. If a child is talking about hurting themselves or not wanting to be alive, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or go to the nearest emergency room.

What This Assessment Measures

  • Panic and physical symptoms of fear (racing heart, dizziness, trouble breathing)
  • Generalized worry about the future, performance and what others think
  • Separation anxiety: fear of being away from parents or sleeping alone
  • Social anxiety with unfamiliar people and being watched
  • School avoidance: headaches, stomachaches and fear around school

41

Questions

5–7

Minutes

100%

Confidential

The 41 Questions

Every question is answered on the same scale: Not true or hardly ever true, Somewhat true or sometimes true, Very true or often true.

  1. When my child feels frightened, it is hard for him/her to breathe.
  2. My child gets headaches when he/she is at school.
  3. My child doesn't like to be with people he/she doesn't know well.
  4. My child gets scared if he/she sleeps away from home.
  5. My child worries about other people liking him/her.
  6. When my child gets frightened, he/she feels like passing out.
  7. My child is nervous.
  8. My child follows me wherever I go.
  9. People tell me that my child looks nervous.
  10. My child feels nervous with people he/she doesn't know well.
  11. My child gets stomachaches at school.
  12. When my child gets frightened, he/she feels like he/she is going crazy.
  13. My child worries about sleeping alone.
  14. My child worries about being as good as other kids.
  15. When my child gets frightened, he/she feels like things are not real.
  16. My child has nightmares about something bad happening to his/her parents.
  17. My child worries about going to school.
  18. When my child gets frightened, his/her heart beats fast.
  19. My child gets shaky.
  20. My child has nightmares about something bad happening to him/her.
  21. My child worries about things working out for him/her.
  22. When my child gets frightened, he/she sweats a lot.
  23. My child is a worrier.
  24. My child gets really frightened for no reason at all.
  25. My child is afraid to be alone in the house.
  26. It is hard for my child to talk with people he/she doesn't know well.
  27. When my child gets frightened, he/she feels like he/she is choking.
  28. People tell me that my child worries too much.
  29. My child doesn't like to be away from his/her family.
  30. My child is afraid of having anxiety (or panic) attacks.
  31. My child worries that something bad might happen to his/her parents.
  32. My child feels shy with people he/she doesn't know well.
  33. My child worries about what is going to happen in the future.
  34. When my child gets frightened, he/she feels like throwing up.
  35. My child worries about how well he/she does things.
  36. My child is scared to go to school.
  37. My child worries about things that have already happened.
  38. When my child gets frightened, he/she gets dizzy.
  39. My child feels nervous when he/she is with other children or adults and has to do something while they watch him/her (for example: read aloud, speak, play a game, play a sport).
  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.
  41. My child is shy.

About the SCARED (parent)

The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) was developed by Dr. Boris Birmaher and colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh in 1997 and refined in 1999. It is one of the most widely used anxiety screeners for children and teenagers aged roughly 8 to 18, and the instrument is free to use. This is the parent version: you answer the 41 questions about your child. There is a matching child version your child can answer about themselves, and clinicians usually look at both, because parents tend to notice avoidance and physical complaints while children report worry that nobody can see from outside.

The 41 items are scored 0, 1 or 2 and add up to a total out of 82. A total of 25 or more is the cutoff the authors use for a probable anxiety disorder. The items also sort into five subscales, each with its own cutoff: panic or somatic symptoms (7 or more), generalized anxiety (9 or more), separation anxiety (5 or more), social anxiety (8 or more) and school avoidance (3 or more). The subscales matter more than the total: a child can be well under 25 overall and still score high on separation anxiety alone, and that pattern tells a clinician where to look.

The SCARED is a screen, not a diagnosis. It does well at telling anxiety apart from depression and from attention problems, but only a clinical interview can confirm an anxiety disorder.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the SCARED scored?+

Each of the 41 items is rated 0 (not true or hardly ever true), 1 (somewhat true or sometimes true) or 2 (very true or often true), for a total out of 82. A total of 25 or more suggests a probable anxiety disorder. Five subscales have their own cutoffs: panic/somatic 7 or more, generalized anxiety 9 or more, separation anxiety 5 or more, social anxiety 8 or more, and school avoidance 3 or more.

What ages is the SCARED for?+

It was developed and validated for children and adolescents aged 8 to 18. Younger children usually need a parent to answer for them.

Should the child or the parent fill it out?+

Both, ideally. The child and parent versions use the same 41 items, and the two scores often differ. Parents tend to see avoidance and physical complaints; children report the worry itself. A clinician reads them side by side.

Is a score above 25 a diagnosis?+

No. It means an anxiety disorder is more likely and worth a proper evaluation. Only a clinician can diagnose, and many children above the cutoff turn out to have a specific, very treatable type of anxiety rather than a general problem.

What happens if my child screens positive?+

Talk to a pediatrician or a child therapist. Childhood anxiety is one of the most treatable conditions in mental health; cognitive behavioral therapy, often with parent sessions, is the usual first-line treatment. Crown Counseling offers child and teen therapy in Crown Heights, Brooklyn and online across New York State.

Are the answers stored?+

No. Everything stays in the browser. Nothing is sent to a server unless you choose to email the result to yourself.

References

  1. Birmaher B, Khetarpal S, Brent D, et al. The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED): scale construction and psychometric characteristics. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1997;36(4):545-553.
  2. Birmaher B, Brent DA, Chiappetta L, Bridge J, Monga S, Baugher M. Psychometric properties of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED): a replication study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1999;38(10):1230-1236.
  3. Hale WW, Crocetti E, Raaijmakers QA, Meeus WH. A meta-analysis of the cross-cultural psychometric properties of the SCARED. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2011;52(1):80-90.
  4. University of Pittsburgh, Department of Psychiatry. SCARED instrument and scoring (available free of charge for use).

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