The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED): Relationship with anxiety and depression in normal children

The current article presents two studies that investigated the concurrent validity of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED), a self-report questionnaire that measures symptoms of DSM-IV linked anxiety disorders in children. Study 1 (N = 68) addressed the connection between the SCARED, on the one hand, and state anxiety and trait anxiety as indexed by the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC), on the other hand. Study 2 (N = 81) examined the relationship between the SCARED and a measure of depression, the Depression Questionnaire for Children (DQC). Results of both studies showed that, in general, SCARED scores are positively related to levels of trait anxiety, state anxiety, and depression. Furthermore, whereas symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder and separation anxiety disorder were strongly linked to levels of psychopathology, the three specific phobia scales of the SCARED were not convincingly associated with anxiety and depression. Altogether, the findings support the concurrent validity of the SCARED.