Factor Structure of the Screen for Child Anxiety-Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) in a Community Sample of Hong Kong Chinese Adolescents

The current study tested the factor structure of the 41-item SCARED in assessing anxiety in a sample of Hong Kong adolescents. Data were collected from 5,226 youths (54.5 % boys) aged 12-18. Results showed that the scale and the five subscales had high internal consistency. However, confirmatory factor analyses showed that the original five-factor model did not fit the data collected in this sample. Instead, the results revealed a seven-factor model consisting of one second-order factor of anxiety and seven first-order factors: the four original factors of General Anxiety, Panic/Somatic Syndromes, Social Anxiety, and School Phobia and three new factors representing different aspects of Separation Anxiety. Group invariance in the Boys and Girls models was found. It is recommended that the three new factors (Fear of Loneliness, Separation Fear, Worry about Harm) be further developed by adding new items so as to enhance the content and construct validities of the SCARED when used with Hong Kong adolescents.