Youth anxiety screen (SCARED-5)
Different anxieties experienced by young people. Answer the app’s questionnaire and see your result right away.
Source · Birmaher B, Brent DA, Chiappetta L, et al. Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED): a replication study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1999;38(10):1230–1236. CareOps English translation of its existing Korean questionnaire. Wording, response choices and descriptive score ranges follow the CareOps version and have not been independently validated in English. CareOps retains its existing five-item wording, including the school/workplace adaptation. The original SCARED is intended for children and adolescents; these adaptations do not establish validity for adults.
Five different kinds of fear, one question each
The SCARED (Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders) was developed by Birmaher and colleagues to explore anxiety in children and adolescents, and the SCARED-5 is a short screening version using five of its items. It asks whether you suddenly become very scared for no reason, feel afraid to be home alone, are told you worry too much, feel scared to go to school (or work) and are shy. The young person answers for themselves about the past three months on three levels, and this page uses an English translation of the CareOps Korean version.
Reading your results
The total ranges from 0 to 10. The result screen shows 0–2 as below the screening threshold and 3 or more as a range where further assessment is suggested. The five items touch on different kinds of anxiety: sudden fear, fear of separation, general worry, fear about school and nervousness around people, so which items scored matters as much as the total. The original was made for children and adolescents, and adults reading it with ‘work’ in place of ‘school’ should treat the result as a rough guide. A diagnosis is made in a clinical conversation; if you scored 3 or more and school, sleep or friendships are being affected, talk with a parent, teacher or professional.
A question to reflect on
Pick one item you answered ‘often’ to and write down one moment this week when that fear came up: where you were, what you felt in your body and what you did. Three lines are enough, and the note makes it easier to start a conversation with an adult you trust.
Frequently asked questions
- How many questions are in Youth anxiety screen (SCARED-5), and how long does it take?
- There are 5 questions, and it usually takes about 1 minute. For each question you choose one of 3 answers, from “Not true” to “Often true”. There are no right or wrong answers.
- Can a parent answer instead?
- This page is set up for young people to answer about themselves over the past three months. What a parent sees and what the young person feels can differ, so it is best for the young person to answer and then talk the result over together.
- Is being shy a form of anxiety?
- Shyness can simply be part of someone’s personality. If nervousness around people keeps leading you to avoid things you want to do, that part is worth a closer look.
- Can adults use it?
- They can, but the SCARED was built for children and adolescents, and this version’s school-or-work wording has not been shown to work for adults. Adults may want to try an adult anxiety check as well.
- Do I need to sign in? Are my answers saved?
- You can see your results right away without signing in. Your answers are used only for scoring and are not stored on our servers.
- Can I bring these results into a counseling session?
- Use the analysis button at the bottom of the result screen to have a short conversation with Maeumi without signing in. After the conversation, you can continue in the app. The web conversation does not transfer automatically to the app.
- Can I share my results with a friend?
- Yes. Use Share at the top right of the result screen to send a friend the check itself, or share your result as a link or story image. A result link carries your scores inside the address only; it does not include your name or account, and nothing is saved on our side.