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SCARED

Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders

The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED) is a 41-item anxiety assessment for child / adolescent (ages 8–18). It typically takes about 10 minutes to complete, producing a total score from 0 to 82 where higher scores indicate greater symptom severity.

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Items

41

Time to complete

10 min

Population

child / adolescent (ages 8–18)

Score range

0–82

About the SCARED

The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED) is a 41-item anxiety assessment for child / adolescent (ages 8–18). It typically takes about 10 minutes to complete, producing a total score from 0 to 82 where higher scores indicate greater symptom severity.

First published in 1999 by Birmaher B, Khetarpal S, Brent DA, Cully M, Balach L, Kaufman J, Neer SM, the SCARED is free to use for clinical and research purposes with attribution. With Psyche Assess you can send the SCARED to clients online, score it automatically, and generate a clinician-ready report in seconds.

What it measures

panic_somaticschool_avoidancesocialseparationgad

SCARED questions

Response scale
0 = Not true or hardly ever true1 = Somewhat true or sometimes true2 = Very true or often true
  1. 1

    When I feel frightened, it is hard to breathe.

    panic_somatic
  2. 2

    I get headaches when I am at school.

    school_avoidance
  3. 3

    I don’t like to be with people I don’t know well.

    social
  4. 4

    I get scared if I sleep away from home.

    separation
  5. 5

    I worry about other people liking me.

    gad
  6. 6

    When I get frightened, I feel like passing out.

    panic_somatic
  7. 7

    I am nervous.

    gad
  8. 8

    I follow my mother or father wherever they go.

    separation
  9. 9

    People tell me that I look nervous.

    panic_somatic
  10. 10

    I feel nervous with people I don’t know well.

    social
  11. 11

    I get stomachaches at school.

    school_avoidance
  12. 12

    When I get frightened, I feel like I am going crazy.

    panic_somatic
  13. 13

    I worry about sleeping alone.

    separation
  14. 14

    I worry about being as good as other kids.

    gad
  15. 15

    When I get frightened, I feel like things are not real.

    panic_somatic
  16. 16

    I have nightmares about something bad happening to my parents.

    separation
  17. 17

    I worry about going to school.

    school_avoidance
  18. 18

    When I get frightened, my heart beats fast.

    panic_somatic
  19. 19

    I get shaky.

    panic_somatic
  20. 20

    I have nightmares about something bad happening to me.

    separation
  21. 21

    I worry about things working out for me.

    gad
  22. 22

    When I get frightened, I sweat a lot.

    panic_somatic
  23. 23

    I am a worrier.

    gad
  24. 24

    I get really frightened for no reason at all.

    panic_somatic
  25. 25

    I am afraid to be alone in the house.

    separation
  26. 26

    It is hard for me to talk with people I don’t know well.

    social
  27. 27

    When I get frightened, I feel like I am choking.

    panic_somatic
  28. 28

    People tell me that I worry too much.

    gad
  29. 29

    I don’t like to be away from my family.

    separation
  30. 30

    I am afraid of having anxiety (or panic) attacks.

    panic_somatic
  31. 31

    I worry that something bad might happen to my parents.

    separation
  32. 32

    I feel shy with people I don’t know well.

    social
  33. 33

    I worry about what is going to happen in the future.

    gad
  34. 34

    When I get frightened, I feel like throwing up.

    panic_somatic
  35. 35

    I worry about how well I do things.

    gad
  36. 36

    I am scared to go to school.

    school_avoidance
  37. 37

    I worry about things that have already happened.

    gad
  38. 38

    When I get frightened, I feel dizzy.

    panic_somatic
  39. 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).

    social
  40. 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.

    social
  41. 41

    I am shy.

    social

Items reproduced from a documented, freely usable source. Item wording is preserved exactly as published.

Scoring & interpretation

RangeBandInterpretation
0–24Below thresholdBelow the screening cutoff (25).
25–82Positive screenScore ≥25 — possible anxiety disorder; further clinical evaluation recommended.

Higher scores indicate greater symptom severity.

panic_somatic subscale

RangeBand
7–26Possible panic / somatic

gad subscale

RangeBand
9–18Possible GAD

separation subscale

RangeBand
5–16Possible separation anxiety

social subscale

RangeBand
8–14Possible social anxiety

school_avoidance subscale

RangeBand
3–8Possible school avoidance

Frequently asked questions

How many items does the SCARED have?

The SCARED has 41 items and takes about 10 minutes to complete.

How is the SCARED scored?

Item responses are summed for a total score from 0 to 82, where higher scores indicate greater severity. Totals fall into the interpretive bands shown above.

Is the SCARED free to use?

The SCARED is free to use for clinical and research purposes provided the authors are credited and the item wording is not altered.

Who is the SCARED for?

The SCARED is designed for child / adolescent (ages 8–18) and is used by clinicians, researchers, and integrated-care teams.

Source & references

AuthorsBirmaher B, Khetarpal S, Brent DA, Cully M, Balach L, Kaufman J, Neer SM
First published1999
CitationBirmaher 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.
PubMed10517055
LicenseOpen license
Source obtained from https://www.pediatricbipolar.pitt.edu on 2026-05-16. Every instrument in our catalog has a documented, legitimate source — never scraped from another platform.

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