Psychometric Properties of the SCARED in a Nationally Representative U.S. Sample of 5-12-Year-Olds

• Published in: Journal of clinical child and adolescent psychology Vol. 49; no. 6; pp. 761 - 772
• Main Authors: Sequeira, Stefanie L, Silk, Jennifer S, Woods, William C, Kolko, David J, Lindhiem, Oliver
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group 01.11.2020
• Subjects: Age differences; Anxiety; Anxiety Disorders; Anxiety Disorders - psychology; Child; Child, Preschool; Children; Emotional disorders; Emotions - physiology; Ethnicity; Factor Structure; Female; Five factor model; Humans; Male; Males; Medical screening; Men; Older children; Parents; Parents & parenting; Psychometrics; Psychometrics - methods; Quantitative psychology; Race; Racial differences; Reliability; Reproducibility of Results; Screening Tests; Separation anxiety; Social anxiety; United States; Youth; United States; United States > US
• ISSN: 1537-4416; 1537-4424
• DOI: 10.1080/15374416.2019.1614001

To examine the factor structure of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders - Parent Report (SCARED-P) in young children and elucidate normative levels of parent-reported anxiety using a nationally representative sample of parents of children ages 5-12 years living in the United States. The 41-item SCARED-P was administered to parents of 1,570 youth who were selected to match the U.S. population on key demographic variables. SCARED-P model fit and mean score differences by age, race/ethnicity, and sex were assessed. SCARED-P model fit and subscale reliability appeared almost identical in younger children (ages 5-8) and older children (ages 9-12), although model fit for a five-factor model was poor in both groups. Symptoms of generalized anxiety increased from age 5 to 12, while symptoms of separation anxiety disorder decreased. Parents reported significantly more symptoms of social anxiety in females than males. No significant differences by race/ethnicity were found for mean levels of anxiety or model fit. The SCARED-P shows some utility as an anxiety screening instrument in a representative sample of U.S. youth as young as 5-years-old, but caution should be used when interpreting subscale scores.