Screen for child anxiety-related emotional disorders (scared): Convergent and divergent validity

The purpose of this study was to examine the Screen for Child Anxiety-Relat ed Emotional Disorder's (SCARED) divergent and convergent validity and its ability to identify anxious children. The SCARED, the Child Behaviour Check list (CBCL), and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) wer e administered to children, adolescents (n = 29), and their parents attendi ng an outpatient noon and anxiety disorders clinic. DSM-IIIR/IV diagnoses w ere made using a semistructured interview (n = 130) or a symptom checklist (n = 165). The Multi-Trait Multi-Method Matrix was used to assess construct validity, and Receiver Operating Curve analysis was used to assess the sen sitivity and specificity of the SCARED, CBCL, and STAIC, The SCARED correla ted significantly better with the CBCL's internalizing factors than with th e externalizing factors. In addition, parent and child forms of the SCARED correlated significantly with the trait and state subscales of the STAIC, C hildren with ala anxiety disorder scored significantly higher on the SCARED than children with depression only or disruptive disorders only (P < 0.05) , thus demonstrating the discriminant validity of the SCARED. The SCARED is a reliable and valid screening tool for clinically referred children and a dolescents with anxiety disorders, (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.