The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED): Scale Construction and Psychometric Characteristics

doi:10.1097/00004583-199704000-00018

Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Volume 36, Issue 4, April 1997, Pages 545-553

https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-199704000-00018 Get rights and content

ABSTRACT

Objective

To develop a reliable and valid child and parent self- report instrument to screen children with anxiety disorders.

Method

An 85-item questionnaire was administered to 341 outpatient children and adolescents and 300 parents. Utilizing item analyses and factor analyses, the original scale was reduced to 38 items. A subsample of children (n = 88) and parents (n = 86) was retested an average of 5 weeks (4 days to 15 weeks) after the initial screening.

Results

The child and parent Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) both yielded five factors: somatic/panic, general anxiety, separation anxiety, social phobia, and school phobia. For the total score and each of the five factors, both the child and parent SCARED demonstrated good internal consistency (α = .74 to .93), test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients = .70 to .90), discriminative validity (both between anxiety and other disorders and within anxiety disorders), and moderate parent-child agreement (r = .20 to .47, p < .001, all correlations).

Conclusions

The SCARED shows promise as a screening instrument for anxiety disorders. Future studies using the SCARED in community samples are indicated.

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One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a member of one or more historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science. One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a member of one or more historically underrepresented sexual and/or gender groups in science. One or more of the authors of this paper received support from a program designed to increase minority representation in science. We actively worked to promote sex and gender balance in our author group. We actively worked to promote inclusion of historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science in our author group. While citing references scientifically relevant for this work, we also actively worked to promote sex and gender balance in our reference list. While citing references scientifically relevant for this work, we also actively worked to promote inclusion of historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science in our reference list.
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: The authors thank Therese Deiseroth for her assistance in preparing this manuscript.

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SPECIAL ARTICLEThe Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED): Scale Construction and Psychometric Characteristics

ABSTRACT

Objective

Method

Results

Conclusions

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

Psychiatry Res

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

J Anxiety Disord

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

Behav Res Ther

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

Int J Biomed Comput

Behav Res Ther

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd edition-revised (DSM-III-R)

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV)

Epidemiological issues

Depressive comorbidity in children and adolescents: empirical, theoretical, and methodological issues

Am J Psychiatry

Separation anxiety disorder, overanxious disorder, and school refusal

Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin North Am

Symptoms of anxiety disorders in normal children

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry

Aspects of school phobia

Comorbidity of anxiety and depression in children and adolescents

Psychol Bull

The assessment of affective disorders in children and adolescents by semistructured interview: test-retest reliability of the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children, Present Episode version

Arch Gen Psychiatry

Tripartite model of anxiety and depression: psychometric evidence and taxonomic implications

J Abnorm Psychol

Extended open-label fluoxetine treatment of adolescents with major depression

J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol

Comorbidity of anxiety disorders

SPECIAL ARTICLE
The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED): Scale Construction and Psychometric Characteristics