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State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC)

State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) Test

Understand a child’s in-the-moment and overall anxiety in about 8 minutes. Fast, kid-friendly, and reliable, it supports early screening and tracking progress over time.

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Questions: 408 minutes

Hi! My name is Freudly, i am an AI therapist, I will give you an interpretation of the test after you complete it.

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

27,197 views

2,132 completions

1,785 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

39/60

Trait Anxiety (TA)

Personal Anxiety measures a child's stable tendency to feel anxious across many situations rather than only in a specific moment.

Low

Moderate

High

20 – 30: Low | 31 – 45: Moderate | 46 – 60: High

A score of 39 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a typical but noticeable tendency to experience anxiety across different situations.

example score

46/60

State Anxiety (SA)

Situational Anxiety measures how strongly a child is currently experiencing tension, worry, uncertainty, agitation, and fear in response to the present situation.

Low

Moderate

High

20 – 30: Low | 31 – 45: Moderate | 46 – 60: High

A score of 46 falls in the High range, indicating a strong current anxiety response that is likely tied to the child’s immediate circumstances.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

School psychologists and counselors

41%OF USERS

Use it to quickly screen anxiety levels in students and plan support during school adaptation or stressful periods.

Parents of anxious children

34%OF USERS

Take it to understand whether a child’s worries are situational right now or a more stable tendency that affects daily life.

Child therapists and clinics

25%OF USERS

Use it to assess baseline anxiety and track changes over time during counseling or after interventions.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

RESULTS YOU CAN ACTUALLY USE

Scale Results
— Explained Clearly

Your scores across each test scale are translated into plain, usable insights. You won’t just get numbers — you’ll learn how your results impact your daily life, emotional state, and overall well-being.

AI-Powered
Interpretation

You’ll receive a structured, clinically-grounded explanation. Our AI analyzes patterns and relationships between scales to provide a coherent interpretation, without exaggerated language.

Statistical
Comparison

See how your results compare to others. Anonymized platform data is used to create a percentile scale, which identifies whether your results are typical.

Practical
Recommendations

You’ll receive clear, actionable guidance tailored to your profile. These easy-to-implement suggestions focus on coping, self-regulation, and realistic next steps.

AI-Powered
Insights

Get insights on behavioral and thought patterns you might not notice on your own. By uncovering subtle connections between your responses, you’ll better understand what may be driving your current results.

Discuss with
an AI Therapist

Clarify, reflect, and explore your results right away. Talk through your experience, ask questions, and explore meanings in a calm, non-diagnostic dialogue.

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Used in 52+ countries

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Personal Anxiety (PA)

Average

34.8

Normal range

28.5 — 41

min.

max.

Majority

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Situational Anxiety (SA)

Average

48.8

Normal range

43.8 — 53.7

min.

max.

Majority

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

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CLEAR ANSWERS TO COMMON QUESTIONS

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this questionnaire measure?

It measures two forms of anxiety: situational anxiety (how tense the child feels in the moment) and trait anxiety (how prone the child is to anxiety in general). Scores are reported separately for each form.

Who is this questionnaire intended for?

It is intended for children in grades 3 through 7. It is suitable for school and clinical settings where brief screening is needed.

How long does it take and how many items are included?

It includes 40 items and typically takes about 8 minutes to complete. The format is brief and uses simple statements.

How should responses be completed?

Responses are given for two time frames: how the child feels right now and how the child usually feels. Items should be answered without overthinking and without skipping.

How are results used in practice?

Results help identify elevated anxiety and distinguish temporary stress reactions from a stable anxiety tendency. They can also support monitoring of change over time after support or intervention.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) Test - Symptoms and Signs

uneasiness

This instrument is used to assess anxiety in children by differentiating situational symptoms from more enduring anxiety tendencies. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) is commonly administered in clinical, school, and research settings to support screening and outcome monitoring.

It consists of 40 items and typically requires about 8 minutes to complete. Items ask children to rate how they feel “right now” versus “generally,” yielding separate indices intended to reflect state and trait anxiety. Results are interpreted within the broader clinical context and are not, by themselves, diagnostic. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) was originally developed as a child-focused adaptation of the state-trait anxiety framework.

Author: charles-d-spielberger

Literature: Spielberger, C. D. Manual for the state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI). Consulting Psychologists Press. 1983.; Muris, P., Merckelbach, H., Ollendick, T., King, N., & Bogie, N. Three traditional and three new childhood anxiety questionnaires: Their reliability and validity in a normal adolescent sample. Behaviour Research and Therapy. 2002.; Beck, J. S. Cognitive behavior therapy: Basics and beyond. Guilford Press. 1995.; Taylor, J. A. A personality scale of manifest anxiety. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology. 1953.

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