Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders

Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders

The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED) is a widely used self-report questionnaire designed to assess anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents. It is a valuable tool for identifying and diagnosing various anxiety disorders in this population. This article provides a detailed overview of the SCARED, including its purpose, administration, scoring, and interpretation.

Purpose

The SCARED is specifically designed to assess anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents aged 8 to 18 years. It aims to identify the presence and severity of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and school avoidance. The questionnaire helps clinicians and researchers screen for these disorders and make informed decisions regarding further assessment and treatment.

Administration

The SCARED is a self-report questionnaire that can be administered individually or in a group setting. It consists of 41 items that assess various anxiety symptoms experienced by the child or adolescent. Each item is rated on a 3-point Likert scale, with response options ranging from "not true or hardly ever true" to "very true or often true." The child or adolescent is instructed to choose the response that best describes their experiences over the past three months.

Scoring

To score the SCARED, each item is assigned a value of 0, 1, or 2, depending on the response chosen by the child or adolescent. The scores for all items are then summed to obtain a total score, which can range from 0 to 82. Higher scores indicate a higher level of anxiety symptoms. Additionally, the SCARED provides subscale scores for each anxiety disorder category, allowing for a more specific assessment of symptoms.

Interpretation

The interpretation of SCARED scores should be done in conjunction with clinical judgment and consideration of the individual's developmental stage. A total score above a certain cutoff point (e.g., 25) may indicate the presence of significant anxiety symptoms and the need for further evaluation. Subscale scores can also be examined to identify specific anxiety disorders that may require targeted interventions.

Internal links

- Generalized anxiety disorder: A specific anxiety disorder assessed by the SCARED. - Separation anxiety disorder: Another anxiety disorder evaluated by the SCARED. - Social anxiety disorder: One of the anxiety disorders screened by the SCARED. - Panic disorder: An anxiety disorder included in the SCARED assessment. - School avoidance: A specific anxiety-related behavior that can be assessed using the SCARED.

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See also

- Childhood anxiety disorders - Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Anxiety treatment in children and adolescents

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