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Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED)3

Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) Test

With 41 questions completed in about 8 minutes, the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) Test helps identify patterns of anxiety across school, social, separation, generalized, and panic-related situations. Its result offers a structured starting point for self-reflection and understanding which areas may deserve closer attention.

Questions: 418 minutes

Screen for Child Anxiety: test ticket with numbers

October 2, 2025October 2, 2025Material has been updatedOctober 2, 2025Material has been published

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2,080 completions

1,631 likes

Daniel Hall Psychologist · Test reviewer

1,631 likes

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

School AvoidanceSA

The IPSH scale measures the severity of school attendance avoidance related to anxiety symptoms.

example score5/8

5/8Elevatedexample score

0 – 2Low

3 – 8Elevated

A score of 5 falls in the Elevated range, suggesting a notable pattern of school avoidance concerns on this screening scale.

Social Anxiety DisorderSAD

Assesses the severity of social anxiety symptoms in a child.

example score6/14

6/14Lowexample score

0 – 7Low

8 – 14Elevated

A score of 6 falls in the Low range, suggesting social anxiety symptoms are not elevated on this screening scale.

Separation Anxiety DisorderSAD

SepTR measures symptoms related to separation anxiety in children, reflecting distress and worry when apart from caregivers.

example score11/16

11/16Elevatedexample score

0 – 4Low

5 – 16Elevated

A score of 11 falls in the Elevated range, indicating more pronounced separation-related anxiety symptoms on this screening scale.

Generalized Anxiety DisorderGAD

The GTR scale measures the severity of symptoms associated with generalized anxiety in children.

example score10/18

10/18Elevatedexample score

0 – 8Low

9 – 18Elevated

A score of 10 falls in the Elevated range, suggesting a higher level of generalized anxiety symptoms on this screening scale.

Panic DisorderPD

Assesses the severity of panic-disorder-related symptoms with somatic manifestations in a child.

example score2/26

2/26Lowexample score

0 – 6Low

7 – 26Elevated

A score of 2 falls in the Low range, suggesting minimal panic-related somatic symptoms on this scale.

Total ScoreTS

The Total SCARED Score reflects the overall severity of anxiety symptoms reported in the questionnaire for screening purposes.

example score65/82

65/82Highexample score

0 – 24Below threshold

25 – 29Elevated

30 – 82High

A score of 65 falls in the High range, indicating a high level of reported anxiety symptoms on this screening measure.

just completed the test

DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Concerned parents and caregivers

46%OF USERS

Parents who notice persistent worries, avoidance, sleep issues, or school distress use it to quickly check whether anxiety may be impacting daily life.

School and clinic referrals

34%OF USERS

Families referred by a school counselor, pediatrician, or therapist take it as a first step to clarify symptoms and decide if further evaluation is needed.

Children with new stressors

20%OF USERS

Kids facing recent changes like bullying, family conflict, moving, or exams complete it (often with adult help) to capture how anxious they feel.

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

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.

Shaded area — where most people score

Dot — the average

You — your score lands on each curve after the test— your score, after the test

IPSHI

You?

Average2.6

Typical rangeTypical1.2 – 4

Possible0 – 8

SocTRS

You?

Average4.8

Typical rangeTypical2.4 – 7.2

Possible0 – 14

SepTRS

You?

Average5.1

Typical rangeTypical2.2 – 8.1

Possible0 – 16

GTRG

You?

Average10.1

Typical rangeTypical7.4 – 12.8

Possible0 – 18

PRP

You?

Average16.1

Typical rangeTypical11.2 – 20.9

Possible0 – 26

Total SCARED ScoreTSS

You?

Average43.8

Typical rangeTypical29.1 – 58.5

Possible0 – 82

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

Below is a list of statements that describe people’s feelings. Read each statement and decide whether it is: “Not true, or almost never true”; “Somewhat true, or true in some situations”; or “True, or true most of the time.” For each statement, select one response that, in your opinion, best describes how you have been feeling over the past three months.

- Not true, or almost never true
- Somewhat true, or true in some situations
- True, or true most of the time
- Not true, or almost never true
- Somewhat true, or true in some situations
- True, or true most of the time
- Not true, or almost never true
- Somewhat true, or true in some situations
- True, or true most of the time

These are 3 of the 41 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) Test - Description and methodology of the test

uneasiness

Designed for a child or adolescent affected by persistent fears, worries, or physical symptoms, the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) Test organizes several anxiety patterns in one profile. It helps identify areas of distress across home, school, relationships, and bodily sensations. The SCARED questionnaire's role as a child anxiety screening questionnaire is to organize concerns into a focused profile for discussion.

What This Assessment Measures

The questionnaire examines anxiety in thoughts, behavior, relationships, school experiences, and bodily sensations. The items cover worry, social discomfort, separation from family, school-linked physical complaints, nightmares, and panic-like sensations.

The SCARED anxiety test separates related experiences, so its displayed results are:

School Avoidance (0-8) measures pronounced avoidance of attending school; Low 0-2 and Elevated 3-8.
Social Anxiety Disorder (0-14) measures social anxiety; Low 0-7 and Elevated 8-14.
Separation Anxiety Disorder (0-16) measures anxiety linked to separation from attachment figures; Low 0-4 and Elevated 5-16.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (0-18) measures generalized anxiety symptoms; Low 0-8 and Elevated 9-18.
Panic Disorder (0-26) measures the severity of panic disorder symptoms with somatic manifestations; Low 0-6 and Elevated 7-26.
Total Score (0-82) screens for anxiety disorders in children and adolescents; Below threshold 0-24, Elevated 25-29, and High 30-82.

Methodology and Evidence Base

The response format asks the respondent to judge each statement using three options: not true or almost never true; somewhat true or true in some situations; or true most of the time. A few items use slightly different wording, but the underlying task remains a graded self-report of frequency or intensity.

Responses are combined into the displayed subscales and total score, allowing a pattern of specific elevations as well as an overall screening result. The listed bands indicate when anxiety may warrant closer attention; they do not establish a disorder by themselves.

The online questionnaire is conceptually consistent with the published SCARED instrument and uses its named scale structure. This online presentation should not be assumed to have identical administration, norms, or psychometric performance.

Within this SCARED assessment, anxiety screening for children relies on self-report shaped by current context: a child may underreport or overreport symptoms, interpret an item differently across settings, or answer from a temporary state. Functional impact, including missed school, avoidance, or disrupted sleep, helps show how an elevated pattern affects daily life.

Author: B. Birmaher

Literature:

Birmaher, B., Brent, D. A., Chiappetta, L., Bridge, J., Monga, S., & Baugher, M. (1999). Psychometric properties of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED): A replication study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38(10), 1230-1236. 10.1097/00004583-199910000-00011
Birmaher, B., Khetarpal, S., Brent, D., Cully, M., Balach, L., Kaufman, J., & Neer, S. M. (1997). The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED): Scale construction and psychometric characteristics. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36(4), 545-553. 10.1097/00004583-199704000-00018
Muris, P., Merckelbach, H., Mayer, B., van Brakel, A., Thissen, S., Moulaert, V., & Gadet, B. (1998). The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) and traditional childhood anxiety measures. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 29(4), 327-339. 10.1016/S0005-7916(98)00023-8

Updated: 2025-10-02

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