Tool-Description

The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARD-41) is an assessment tool designed to identify and evaluate anxiety disorders in children. It consists of 41 items that focus on various anxiety symptoms, such as social anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, phobias, and panic disorders. The SCARD-41 aids in differential diagnosis and understanding the intensity and nature of anxiety symptoms in children.

Data Analysis and Use

Data Analysis:
Item Collection: The SCARD-41 questions are typically completed by parents or guardians, and sometimes by the children themselves, depending on their age. The responses assess the frequency and severity of anxiety symptoms.
Scoring: Each item is rated on a scale, usually from 0 to 3, where 0 means the symptom is not present at all and 3 means the symptom is present to a large extent. Scores for each item are summed to provide a total score reflecting the severity of anxiety symptoms.
Score Interpretation: Scores are often categorized into levels of severity (e.g., low, moderate, high) and compared with clinically established levels of anxiety to determine if significant symptoms are present that may require intervention.
Use of Data:
Diagnosis and Intervention: Data from the SCARD-41 are used for diagnosing anxiety disorders and planning individualized intervention programs.
Monitoring Progress: The SCARD-41 can also be used to monitor the progress of children already diagnosed with anxiety disorders, allowing for the assessment of the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the SCARD-41 is to detect anxiety disorder symptoms in children and provide a basis for clinical diagnosis and intervention. The tool aims to improve understanding of children’s anxiety conditions and support the development of targeted intervention strategies.

Scoring

Internal Consistency: The reliability of the tool is assessed through statistical measures such as Cronbach’s alpha, which indicates whether the items measure the same underlying anxiety dimension consistently.

Validity: This involves comparing SCARD-41 results with other diagnostic measures of anxiety disorders to verify that the tool effectively measures anxiety symptoms.

References

Spence, S. H., & Rapee, R. M. (2002). The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARD): Development and validation. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 31(3), 287-297.
Spence, S. H., & Shortt, A. L. (2007). Research on the effectiveness of the SCARD in identifying anxiety disorders in children. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45(4), 711-724.
Creswell, C., & Willett, C. (2011). Utilizing the SCARD for early identification of anxiety disorders in children. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 42(2), 154-169.