Psychometric properties of the SCARED in youth with autism spectrum disorder

• We evaluate the psychometrics of an anxiety measure (SCARED) in youth with ASD.
• Parent and child versions of the SCARED demonstrated a five-factor structure.
• Internal reliability and score distributions were similar to typically developing samples.
• The SCARED showed moderate convergent validity with a structured clinical interview.
• Results support use of the SCARED as a valid assessment tool for youth with ASD.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at increased risk of developing co-occurring anxiety symptoms. However, the assessment of anxiety symptoms in this population is often challenging for researchers and clinicians. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of a questionnaire measure of child anxiety symptoms, the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED), in school-aged children and adolescents with high-functioning ASD. Children and parents recruited for an anxiety treatment study completed the SCARED—parent and child versions prior to the start of treatment. Both versions demonstrated factor structures, internal reliability, and score distributions largely consistent with those from typically developing samples (Birmaher et al., 1999). The SCARED showed moderate convergent validity with a structured clinical interview and had good sensitivity and specificity. Differences were explored by child age, gender, and ethnicity. Together, these findings support the use of the SCARED as a valid assessment tool in an ASD population.