Screening tools · Child and adolescent anxiety

SCARED Child and Parent Anxiety Questionnaires.

Two separate 41-item questionnaires about anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents ages 8–18. Choose the child/teen or parent/caregiver version; each is scored independently and never combined.

What these measures assess

SCARED provides a total anxiety score and five domain scores: panic/somatic symptoms, generalized anxiety, separation anxiety, social anxiety and school avoidance. Ages 8–11 should have an adult available to explain questions.

Separate perspectives

Children and caregivers may experience or observe symptoms differently. A difference does not mean one person is wrong. Professional assessment considers each perspective in context; the website never averages or combines the versions.

Choose a version

Who is answering?

Each version is scored independently. Answers never carry between versions, and BrainLab does not create a combined score.

Questionnaire

SCARED Child

Intended for: Children and adolescents ages 8–18; ages 8–11 should complete it with an adult available to explain questions

Timeframe: Answer for the last three months.

Choose the response that best describes your own experiences.

Your answers and score are not sent to BrainLab.

1. When I feel frightened, it is hard to breathe.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

2. I get headaches when I am at school.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

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

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

4. I get scared if I sleep away from home.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

5. I worry about other people liking me.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

6. When I get frightened, I feel like passing out.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

7. I am nervous.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

8. I follow my mother or father wherever they go.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

9. People tell me that I look nervous.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

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

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

11. I get stomachaches at school.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

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

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

13. I worry about sleeping alone.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

14. I worry about being as good as other kids.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

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

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

16. I have nightmares about something bad happening to my parents.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

17. I worry about going to school.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

18. When I get frightened, my heart beats fast.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

19. I get shaky.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

20. I have nightmares about something bad happening to me.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

21. I worry about things working out for me.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

22. When I get frightened, I sweat a lot.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

23. I am a worrier.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

24. I get really frightened for no reason at all.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

25. I am afraid to be alone in the house.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

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

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

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

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

28. People tell me that I worry too much.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

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

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

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

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

31. I worry that something bad might happen to my parents.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

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

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

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

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

34. When I get frightened, I feel like throwing up.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

35. I worry about how well I do things.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

36. I am scared to go to school.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

37. I worry about things that have already happened.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

38. When I get frightened, I feel dizzy.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

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).

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

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.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

41. I am shy.

Not true or hardly ever trueSomewhat true or sometimes trueVery true or often true

0 of 41 answered

Score guide

Understanding this score

Use the score as one piece of information. A screening questionnaire cannot establish a diagnosis or rule out a condition.

SCARED Child

How scoring works

The 41 child-report items score from 0 to 2 and are added for a total from 0 to 82, with five domain scores reported separately.

Published ranges or thresholds

A total of 25 or more is a commonly used screening threshold. Domain thresholds provide additional context and are not diagnoses.

What a higher score may indicate

A total or domain score at a published threshold may support further evaluation; it does not identify a diagnosis by itself.

What a lower score may indicate

A lower score does not rule out anxiety, impairment or a difference between child and caregiver perspectives.

Evidence and limitations

SCARED provides a total and five published domains for ages 8–18 over the prior three months. Child and caregiver versions are independent and must never be averaged; context, setting and development remain essential.

SCARED Parent

How scoring works

The 41 caregiver-report items score from 0 to 2 and are added for a total from 0 to 82, with five domain scores reported separately.

Published ranges or thresholds

A total of 25 or more is a commonly used screening threshold. Domain thresholds provide additional context and are not diagnoses.

What a higher score may indicate

A total or domain score at a published threshold may support further evaluation; it does not identify a diagnosis by itself.

What a lower score may indicate

A lower score does not rule out anxiety, impairment or experiences that are not visible to a caregiver.

Evidence and limitations

SCARED provides a total and five published domains for ages 8–18 over the prior three months. Caregiver observation is one perspective. The child and caregiver versions are independent and must never be averaged.

Screening vs assessment

A questionnaire is not a psychological assessment.

A questionnaire can help you notice patterns, but it does not diagnose, produce a psychological assessment report or replace professional evaluation. You do not need to complete one before requesting an assessment.

Compare screening and assessment Use the Assessment Planner

When further support may be useful

Consider professional support when worry, fear, avoidance or physical anxiety symptoms are persistent, distressing or affecting school, relationships, sleep or daily activities.

Therapy Psychodiagnostic assessment

Frequently asked questions

Who is SCARED for?

The child and parent versions are for children and adolescents ages 8–18.

Should child and parent scores be combined?

No. Each questionnaire is scored and interpreted separately.

What does the total threshold mean?

A total of 25 or more may indicate an anxiety disorder and suggests that professional evaluation may be useful. It is not a diagnosis.

Can a lower score rule out anxiety?

No. Symptoms, impact and context still matter.

Source

University of Pittsburgh — SCARED (opens in a new tab)

Attribution

Developed by Birmaher, Khetarpal, Cully, Brent and McKenzie at the University of Pittsburgh.

Reference

University of Pittsburgh assessment instruments (opens in a new tab)

Next step

Consider the young person’s experience in context.

View therapy or child and adolescent psychodiagnostic assessment without treating a screen as a diagnosis.

View Therapy Learn About Psychodiagnostic Assessment