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Anxiety Test for Kids & Teens (SCARED)
The 41-question anxiety screen built for ages 8-17, with subscale scores across panic, worry, separation, social, and school anxiety.
- 41 questions
- About 5 minutes
- Ages 8-17
- SCARED
- Free & private
What a SCARED score can and cannot tell you
The SCARED is a 41-item anxiety questionnaire from the University of Pittsburgh, with matching parent and child versions, for ages 8 to 18.
Clinicians score it alongside an interview, the child's own version, and often a teacher's view, and they read the subscales, not just the total.
A parent-completed checklist is a screen, not an assessment. Scores here can run higher or lower than a clinician would find, and a clinician would not diagnose from this form alone.
About the SCARED
The SCARED (Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders) is the standard anxiety screen built specifically for children and teens aged 8 to 17, with matched child self-report and parent-report versions. Its 41 items break anxiety into five validated subscales: panic, generalized worry, separation anxiety, social anxiety, and school avoidance. That is what makes it more useful for kids than adult instruments that do not feature age-specific stressors. It shows which kind of anxiety is elevated, and by how much.
A total of 25 or higher is the point where the SCARED authors say clinicians should take a closer look (not a diagnosis), and each subscale has its own cutoff (how high of a score indicates a level of anxiety that might benefit from professional support). A screening cannot diagnose, but the subscale pattern is exactly the conversation-starter a clinician needs.
If the results suggest an evaluation would be helpful, Emora Health offers online therapy for kids and teens with licensed clinicians who specialize in childhood anxiety, typically within days of sign-up.
How the SCARED is scored
The answers add up to one total. They also group into five areas: panic, general worry, separation, social situations, and school. Each area gets its own score and its own cutoff.
Both halves matter. Your child can land below the overall cutoff and still score high in one area, and that is what the five area scores are for. The child and parent versions use the same scoring, and clinicians like to read them side by side. Your child knows what they feel. You see what they avoid.
A screener is not a diagnosis. Cutoffs are set to catch more than they miss, so a high score is a reason to talk to a clinician, not an answer.
Common questions
The SCARED is a validated instrument (developed by Dr. Boris Birmaher and associates) used widely in pediatric research and clinics, with published cutoffs for the total score and each subscale. It shows whether an evaluation is warranted. It cannot diagnose.
Both versions are validated and they are worth comparing: kids report internal symptoms parents cannot see, and parents notice behavioral patterns like avoidance that kids might normalize. If you only do one, have the child self-report when they are 8 or older.
Five areas: panic (physical symptoms like heart palpitations, shaking, shortness of breath, or dizziness), generalized worry, separation anxiety, social anxiety, and school avoidance. An elevated subscale with a below-threshold total (meaning a high score in one category but not overall) can still be meaningful, especially regarding school avoidance.
References
- 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 & Adolescent Psychiatry, 36(4), 545-553. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-199704000-00018 Official source
- 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 & Adolescent Psychiatry, 38(10), 1230-1236. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-199910000-00011
SCARED developed by Boris Birmaher, MD and colleagues, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh.
Keep reading
A screener starts the conversation. Care is the next step.
Therapy, medication support, and testing for kids, teens, and parents. Online and covered by most major insurance plans.