German Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED): Reliability, Validity, and Cross-Informant Agreement in a Clinical Sample

Abstract

BackgroundThe psychometric properties and cross-informant agreement of a German translation of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) were assessed in a clinical sampleMethods102 children and adolescents in outpatient psychotherapy and their parents filled out the SCARED and Youth Self Report/Child Behaviour Checklist (YSR/CBCL).ResultsThe German SCARED showed good internal consistency for both parent and self-report version, and proved to be convergently and discriminantly valid when compared with YSR/CBCL scales. Cross-informant agreement was moderate with children reporting both a larger number as well as higher severity of anxiety symptoms than their parents.ConclusionIn conclusion, the German SCARED is a valid and reliable anxiety scale and may be used in a clinical setting

Discriminant validity, diagnostic utility, and parent-child agreement on the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) in treatment- and non-treatment-seeking youth

“…While studies have largely confirmed the SCARED’s psychometric properties in clinically referred samples (Bodden, Bogels, & Muris, 2009; Dirks et al, 2014; Hariz et al, 2013; Monga et al, 2000; Muris, Dreessen, Bogels, Weckx, & van Melick, 2004; Muris & Steerneman, 2001; Stevanovic, 2012; Weitkamp, Romer, Rosenthal, Wiegand-Grefe, & Daniels, 2010), fewer have compared accuracy of diagnostic cutoffs obtained from the SCARED with diagnoses from standardized clinical interviews (Bodden et al, 2009; Gardner, Lucas, Kolko, & Campo, 2007; Hariz et al, 2013; Monga et al, 2000; Muris et al, 2004; Muris & Steerneman, 2001; Weitkamp et al, 2010). Among such studies, modest sample size has largely prohibited tests of discriminant validity between specific subtypes of anxiety disorder diagnoses.…”

“…Yet, correlational analyses typically yield only modest levels of informant agreement (Birmaher et al, 1999; Birmaher et al, 1997; Cosi et al, 2010; Muris, Merckelbach, van Brakel, & Mayer, 1999; Su et al, 2008; Weitkamp et al, 2010). From a clinical perspective, it is critical to determine if informants provide complementary information that improves accuracy of clinical cutoffs, or if informant discrepancies lead to diagnostic discrepancies that vary based on the informant (Klein, 1991).…”

Recommendations for the Use of Common Outcome Measures in Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury Research

“…The parent and child versions of the SCARED (Birmaher et al, , 1999Hale et al, 2005;Monga et al, 2000) are 41-item self-report questionnaires measuring symptoms of DSM-IV defined anxiety disorders except for obsessive-compulsive disorder. It is available in multiple languages (e.g., German, Italian, and Chinese) and has been used in different cultures (Su et al, 2008;Weitkamp et al, 2010). Administration time is * 10 min.…”

Der deutsche Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED): Eltern- und Selbsturteil in einer klinischen Stichprobe 11- bis 18-Jähriger

“…In einer ersten Prüfung der deutschen Version an einer Feldstichprobe zeigten sich ebenfalls gute psychometrische Qualitäten: Die Kinderversion wurde an 556 Grundschulkindern im Alter von 8 bis 12 Jahren validiert. Das Selbsturteil des SCARED wies eine gute interne Konsistenz auf (Gesamtwert: α = .91, Subskalen: α = .66 bis α = .81; Essau, Muris, Ederer, 2002), ebenso das Elternurteil bei klinisch auffälligen Kindern und Jugendlichen (Gesamtwert: α = .90, Subskalen: α = .80 bis α = .92; Weitkamp, Romer, Rosenthal, Wiegand-Grefe, Daniels, 2010). Lediglich die Skala Trennungsangst im Elternurteil hatte ein nicht zufriedenstellendes α = .51.…”