The SCARED is a 41-item anxiety questionnaire for children and teens 8 to 18. The child and a parent each fill in their own version about the last three months, for a total from 0 to 82 and five subscales, from panic to school avoidance. See how to score it, what the cutoff of 25 and each subscale cutoff mean, and how to read the two versions side by side, then record the result with the free template. The official forms are free from the University of Pittsburgh.
SCARED result template
FreeSCARED ANXIETY SCREEN Date: [Date] Child: [Name or ID; age in years, 8 to 18; school grade] Reason for screening: [Check-up, therapy intake, school refusal, physical complaints with no medical cause, or progress review] Seen with: [Parent or caregiver present; time alone with the child or teen] VERSIONS RETURNED Child version: [Filled in alone, with an adult beside them, or read aloud; paper or online; language] Parent version: [Which parent or caregiver filled it in, and the date] Period rated: [The last 3 months, as the form asks] Wording explained: [For ages 8 to 11, who helped with the questions; or not needed] TOTALS Child total: [0 to 82; below 25, 25 to 30, or above 30] Parent total: [0 to 82; below 25, 25 to 30, or above 30] SUBSCALES AGAINST CUTOFFS Panic or somatic, cutoff 7: [Child score and parent score; at or above, or below] Generalized anxiety, cutoff 9: [Child score and parent score; at or above, or below] Separation anxiety, cutoff 5: [Child score and parent score; at or above, or below] Social anxiety, cutoff 8: [Child score and parent score; at or above, or below] School avoidance, cutoff 3: [Child score and parent score; at or above, or below] HOW THE TWO REPORTS COMPARE Where they match: [Subscales both versions put at or above the cutoff] Where they split: [Subscales only one version puts above the cutoff, and the likely reason] CONTEXT Daily life: [School attendance, sleep, friendships, activities, family routines] Physical symptoms: [Stomachaches, headaches, or racing heart, and what any medical workup found] Other causes and conditions: [Depression screen, ADHD, trauma, caffeine, medicines, thyroid] Safety: [Self-harm and suicidal thoughts asked about, and the answers] IMPRESSION Screen result: [Positive or negative, on which version] Working diagnosis: [Type of anxiety disorder, worries below the threshold, or another cause] PLAN Treatment: [CBT with exposure, parent-led CBT, an SSRI, or watch and rescreen] School: [Attendance plan, a staff contact, or classroom supports] Rescreen: [When both versions will be repeated] Clinician: [Name, credentials]
Use it for
The child or teen fills in the child version and a parent fills in the parent version, each on their own, about the last three months. Each takes about 10 minutes.
Avoid: Letting the parent fill in the child version for the child. Then there’s only one report, and it’s the parent’s.
Each item scores 0, 1, or 2. Add all 41 for the total, then add each subscale’s items, using the item numbers in the scoring directions on the official form.
Avoid: Adding the child and parent totals together, or averaging them. Each version is scored on its own, from 0 to 82.
The subscales point to which anxiety disorder to ask about. A subscale at or above its cutoff is a lead for the interview, not a diagnosis.
Avoid: Passing over a high school avoidance score because the total is modest. Missed school builds on itself quickly.
Two versions give two views of the same child. Where they agree, the finding is firmer; where they differ, the difference is worth a question.
Avoid: Deciding one version is wrong. Both are information; the interview sorts them out.
Confirm the diagnosis in an interview, check for other causes and conditions, and agree a plan with the child and family.
Avoid: Advising the family to keep the child home until the anxiety settles. Avoidance keeps anxiety going.
Each one follows the recording template. Use them to judge how much to write.
Pediatric practice, visit for stomachaches on school mornings, both versions filled in at the visit
10-year-old girl in grade 5. Child version on paper with the nurse beside her to explain words; parent version from her mother, filled in in the waiting room. Both rated the last 3 months.
Child 33, above 30. Parent 31, above 30.
Panic or somatic: child 8, parent 5; at or above 7 on her version only. Generalized anxiety: child 7, parent 6; both below 9. Separation anxiety: child 11, parent 13; both well above 5. Social anxiety: child 3, parent 2; both below 8. School avoidance: child 4, parent 5; both above 3.
Both put separation anxiety and school avoidance above the cutoff. Only her version puts panic or somatic above it: she describes a pounding heart and feeling sick at the classroom door, which her mother hasn’t seen.
Began after her mother spent 5 days in hospital with pneumonia in August. Stomachaches most school mornings, gone by the afternoon at home. Missed 7 of the last 20 school days and goes to the nurse’s office asking to call home about twice a week. Sleeps in her parents’ bed most nights. Exam normal, growth on track; blood count and celiac screen normal in September. No low mood; still swims twice a week and has two close friends. Asked about thoughts of hurting herself: none.
Positive screen on both versions. Separation anxiety disorder, with school avoidance and stomachaches driven by anxiety.
Referral to a child therapist for CBT with exposure, with parent sessions on calm drop-offs and staying in her own bed. Letter to the school: the counselor as her contact person, a 10-minute rest at the nurse’s office then back to class, and no calls home before lunch. Full days from next week, with her mother leaving at the door. Both versions again in 8 weeks, at a follow-up visit.
A total of 22 can hide a separation anxiety score of 9. Check all five subscales against their own cutoffs.
Adding or averaging the child and parent totals gives a number no cutoff fits. Record each version on its own.
Parents can miss worries a child keeps inside. From age 8, ask the child or teen for their own version too.
A total of 25 or more opens the interview. Confirm the disorder, how much it gets in the way, and other causes before treating.
A school avoidance score of 3 or more needs a plan with the school now. The longer a child is out, the harder the return.
Vero Scribe records the SCARED result in your template from the visit, with the family’s consent, or from your dictation: both totals, the subscales against their cutoffs, where the two reports differ, and the plan. You review and edit every line, then copy it into your record. Vero works in 60+ languages.
Each of the 41 items scores 0 for not true or hardly ever true, 1 for somewhat or sometimes true, and 2 for very true or often true. Add them for a total from 0 to 82, then add the items of each of the five subscales, using the item numbers in the official scoring directions. Score the child and parent versions separately.
A total of 25 or more may indicate an anxiety disorder, and the form says scores higher than 30 are more specific. Some clinics use 30 or more as the higher line. Check the subscales too, since one can pass its cutoff while the total is under 25. A clinical interview confirms the diagnosis.
Five subscales, each with a cutoff on the form: panic disorder or significant somatic symptoms, 7; generalized anxiety, 9; separation anxiety, 5; social anxiety, 8; and significant school avoidance, 3. A score at or above the cutoff may indicate that problem and points the interview to it.
Both, where you can. Each version has the same 41 items and the same cutoffs, and each is scored on its own. The two often differ: parents can miss worries a child keeps inside, and children can play down what they avoid. Record both, and where they agree and differ.
Children and teens 8 to 18. For children 8 to 11, the form advises that the clinician explains the questions, or that an adult sits with the child while they answer. For adults, the same team made the SCAARED, with 44 items.
The GAD-7 has seven items on the last two weeks and screens mainly for generalized anxiety; it was built for adults and is also used with teens. The SCARED has 41 items on the last three months, covers five kinds of anxiety including separation anxiety and school avoidance, and has a parent version, so it suits younger children better.
The child and a parent fill it in, and anyone in the care team can hand it out or send it, in a clinic, a school health office, or a counseling service. A clinician such as a pediatrician, family physician, psychologist, counselor, or psychiatrist scores and reads it and makes any diagnosis.
Yes. The University of Pittsburgh’s Child and Adolescent Bipolar Spectrum Services program posts the child and parent forms, with scoring directions and translations, free to download. Get the official form there, and contact Dr. Birmaher’s team to adapt or republish it. The recording template on this page is free to copy or download.
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The PHQ-9 modified for teens 11 to 17: nine symptoms scored 0 to 27, plus a past-year question and two suicide questions.
A 26-item parent and teacher rating of ADHD and oppositional symptoms, scored as subscale averages from 0 to 3.
The first session, with history, risk, and screening scores such as the SCARED.
For a return-to-school plan: the supports that help and a review date.
Seven items on generalized anxiety, for teens and adults.
Pediatric visit notes drafted from the visit, for your review.
Every tool, by area, with what its scores mean.
Vero records scores, findings, and plans in the templates you choose, so you review instead of type.
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