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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.

Clinician or parent? Hand your device over with the score hidden, or send the test to their phone.

41 questions · about 5–7 minutes

For each one, pick the answer that fits you best over the past three months. There are no right or wrong answers.

Your answers stay on this device. Nothing is saved or sent unless you choose to email the results. 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.

  1. Question 1 of 41: When my child feels frightened, it is hard for him/her to breathe.
  2. Question 2 of 41: My child gets headaches when he/she is at school.
  3. Question 3 of 41: My child doesn't like to be with people he/she doesn't know well.
  4. Question 4 of 41: My child gets scared if he/she sleeps away from home.
  5. Question 5 of 41: My child worries about other people liking him/her.
  6. Question 6 of 41: When my child gets frightened, he/she feels like passing out.
  7. Question 7 of 41: My child is nervous.
  8. Question 8 of 41: My child follows me wherever I go.
  9. Question 9 of 41: People tell me that my child looks nervous.
  10. Question 10 of 41: My child feels nervous with people he/she doesn't know well.
  11. Question 11 of 41: My child gets stomachaches at school.
  12. Question 12 of 41: When my child gets frightened, he/she feels like he/she is going crazy.
  13. Question 13 of 41: My child worries about sleeping alone.
  14. Question 14 of 41: My child worries about being as good as other kids.
  15. Question 15 of 41: When my child gets frightened, he/she feels like things are not real.
  16. Question 16 of 41: My child has nightmares about something bad happening to his/her parents.
  17. Question 17 of 41: My child worries about going to school.
  18. Question 18 of 41: When my child gets frightened, his/her heart beats fast.
  19. Question 19 of 41: My child gets shaky.
  20. Question 20 of 41: My child has nightmares about something bad happening to him/her.
  21. Question 21 of 41: My child worries about things working out for him/her.
  22. Question 22 of 41: When my child gets frightened, he/she sweats a lot.
  23. Question 23 of 41: My child is a worrier.
  24. Question 24 of 41: My child gets really frightened for no reason at all.
  25. Question 25 of 41: My child is afraid to be alone in the house.
  26. Question 26 of 41: It is hard for my child to talk with people he/she doesn't know well.
  27. Question 27 of 41: When my child gets frightened, he/she feels like he/she is choking.
  28. Question 28 of 41: People tell me that my child worries too much.
  29. Question 29 of 41: My child doesn't like to be away from his/her family.
  30. Question 30 of 41: My child is afraid of having anxiety (or panic) attacks.
  31. Question 31 of 41: My child worries that something bad might happen to his/her parents.
  32. Question 32 of 41: My child feels shy with people he/she doesn't know well.
  33. Question 33 of 41: My child worries about what is going to happen in the future.
  34. Question 34 of 41: When my child gets frightened, he/she feels like throwing up.
  35. Question 35 of 41: My child worries about how well he/she does things.
  36. Question 36 of 41: My child is scared to go to school.
  37. Question 37 of 41: My child worries about things that have already happened.
  38. Question 38 of 41: When my child gets frightened, he/she gets dizzy.
  39. Question 39 of 41: 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. Question 40 of 41: 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. Question 41 of 41: My child is shy.

0 of 41 answered

Questions
41
Time
5–7 min
Looks back over
The past three months
Score range
Varies by scale
Cost
Free

What the SCARED (parent) 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

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.

How the SCARED (parent) is scored

  1. Every question is answered on the same scale, from "Not true or hardly ever true" (0 points) to "Very true or often true" (2 points).
  2. The questions are split into 5 scales. Panic / somatic symptoms: questions 1, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 19, 22, 24, 27, 30, 34 and 38. Generalized anxiety: questions 5, 7, 14, 21, 23, 28, 33, 35 and 37. Separation anxiety: questions 4, 8, 13, 16, 20, 25, 29 and 31. Social anxiety: questions 3, 10, 26, 32, 39, 40 and 41. School avoidance: questions 2, 11, 17 and 36.
  3. Add up the answers on each scale. Each scale has its own cut-off.
  4. All 41 answers added together give the total anxiety score, out of 82.
  5. For example, if the 13 Panic / somatic symptoms questions add up to 13, the Panic / somatic symptoms score is 13, which falls in the At or above cutoff range.

SCARED (parent) score ranges

The ranges this quiz uses to label a score, for each scale. They describe where a score falls, not a diagnosis.

ResultTotal anxietyPanic / somatic symptomsGeneralized anxietySeparation anxietySocial anxietySchool avoidance
Below cutoff0–240–60–80–40–70–2
At or above cutoff25–827–269–185–168–143–8

How to read the results

  • It is a snapshot, not a diagnosis. The score describes the past three months, and a label only says where that falls compared with the people the questionnaire was tested on. A word like "mild" does not mean a mild disorder.
  • Compare the scales with each other. The pattern across them says more than any one number. High stress with normal depression points somewhere different from the reverse.
  • Compare with yourself over time. Taking it again in a few weeks, or after starting therapy, shows whether things are moving. Compare each score with your own earlier one, not with someone else's.
  • Talk it through. A clinician will ask what no questionnaire can: how long it has been like this, what else is going on, and how much it gets in the way.

The SCARED (parent) compared with similar tests

TestScreens forQuestionsLooks back over
SCARED (child)Child anxiety, in the child's words41The past three months
SCARED (parent) (this page)Child anxiety, in the parent's words41The past three months

Using the SCARED (parent) with clients

  • Baseline, then repeat. Give it at intake, then at regular intervals, and compare each score with the client's own earlier ones to see whether treatment is working.
  • Hand to client. Give it on your own device in session. The questions fill the screen with nothing else on it, and the scores stay hidden until you take the device back and press Show results.
  • Send to someone. Send a link before the session by text or email. Tick "Ask for a copy of their results" and their results page offers to email you their score. They decide whether to send it. Your address travels in the link itself and never reaches our servers.
  • Copy summary and Print. The results screen copies a one-line summary for the session note, or prints the results on their own.
  • Nothing is stored. Answers stay in the browser. Results leave it only when someone chooses to email them, and that email is not kept.
  • Billing. Giving and scoring a standardized instrument like the SCARED (parent) is commonly billed as CPT 96127, one unit per instrument. Payers set their own limits, so check before relying on it.

Diagnosis codes often documented for this concern

For reference only. A screening score is not a diagnosis, and none of these follows from a score on its own.

  • F41.1 Generalized Anxiety Disorder
  • F40.10 Social Anxiety Disorder
  • F41.9 Unspecified Anxiety Disorder

Where to go from here

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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