Templates / Preschool anxiety scale: Free PDF, subscales and scoring guide

Mental Health & Therapy

Preschool anxiety scale: Free PDF, subscales and scoring guide

Free PDF • 5 pages, print-ready • Clinician-reviewed

Monika Lazarevska Last updated October 29, 2026 Reviewed by Dr. Vanja Kitanova

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The preschool anxiety scale (PAS) is a 28-item questionnaire that parents complete to screen children aged about 3 to 6 for anxiety. Clinginess at drop-off, a fear of dogs and endless “what if” questions are all common at this age. The hard part is telling a passing phase from a pattern that needs help.

The PAS gives you five subscale scores, from separation anxiety to physical injury fears, set against community norms. It screens rather than diagnoses, so a high score leads to a fuller assessment, not a label. Scoring it right matters, because a misread cutoff can delay help or send a family to a specialist they don't need.

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Scale

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Printable PDF, 5 pages

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3 sections

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36 fields

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Mental Health & Therapy

Key takeaways

The preschool anxiety scale is a 28-item parent questionnaire for children aged about 3 to 6 years.

This form is the original version, scored on five subscales including obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

Each item scores 0 to 4, for a maximum total of 112, and items 29 to 34 are never scored.

A T-score of 60 or above is elevated, and many clinicians treat 65 as the clinical cutoff.

One set of norms covers every age and gender, and a high score calls for assessment, not a diagnosis.

What the preschool anxiety scale measures, and who it suits

The preschool anxiety scale is a 28-item questionnaire that a parent or main caregiver fills in about their child. Susan Spence and colleagues built it in 2001, adapting items from the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale for younger children.

It suits children aged about 3 to 6 years. That’s the range its community norms cover, so a score outside it has nothing reliable to compare against. For school-age children, pick a tool normed for that age group.

Its main job is early identification. A result tells you whether a child’s anxiety sits in the typical range or deserves a closer look.

Five subscales sort worries into clinical patterns

This form is the original version from Spence et al. (2001), and it scores five subscales. Each one matches a pattern clinicians see in young children.

• Separation anxiety: distress about being apart from a parent, at drop-off, bedtime or sleepovers.
• Social anxiety: fear of unfamiliar people, joining a group or speaking in front of others.
• Generalized anxiety: worry that spills into sleep, mood and constant requests for reassurance.
• Obsessive-compulsive symptoms: checking, repeated handwashing, ordering and unwanted thoughts that keep coming back.
• Physical injury fears: fear of dogs, insects, heights, the dark, storms, swimming and closed-in places.

A revised version, the PAS-R (Edwards et al., 2010), removed the obsessive-compulsive items. It scores four subscales instead: generalized anxiety, social anxiety, separation anxiety and specific fears. So check which version you hold before you score, because the two keys differ.

How each subscale shows up at home and preschool

Separation anxiety is the subscale parents recognize fastest. It shows up at drop-off, at bedtime and in a new childcare setting. A high score points to distress about being apart from a parent, which is different from shyness.

Social worries look quieter. A child may hang back at playgroup, cling to a parent around new adults or stay silent at show and tell. Parents often put this down to temperament rather than anxiety.

Generalized worry, rituals and fears of injury present differently again. Reading the five subscales together shows whether you’re seeing one fear or a broader pattern. That matters, because early help is easier to start before a pattern sets in.

Check these five points before a parent fills it in

The parent completes the questionnaire, not the child. Run through this list first, and the scores you get back will be worth reading.

1. Confirm the child is aged about 3 to 6, because the norms don’t apply outside that range.
2. Check the form is the original five-subscale version, so you score it with the right key.
3. Ask the parent to rate the child’s typical behavior on the five answers, from “not true at all” to “very often true”.
4. Explain that items 29 to 34 ask about traumatic events. The PDF’s instruction above item 30 is worded incorrectly. Tell parents to answer items 30 to 34 only if they answered yes to item 29.
5. Before the parent leaves, scan for skipped items and note any they found unclear.

Most parents finish it in a few minutes. If you also need developmental and family history, pair it with a parent intake questionnaire so both arrive together.

How to score the preschool anxiety scale in five sums

Scoring is simple arithmetic. Each of items 1 to 28 scores 0 to 4, from “not true at all” to “very often true”. Add the items for each subscale, then add items 1 to 28 for the total, which tops out at 112.

The key below shows which items belong to each subscale, so you can score a paper form without hunting through a manual.

Items 29 to 34 sit outside the score. They record whether the child has lived through a traumatic event and how they’ve reacted since. They’re for clinical interest only, so read them but never add them in.

A worked example

Say a parent rates the five separation items. Items 6 and 22 score 3, item 12 scores 4, and items 16 and 25 score 2. The separation anxiety raw score is 14 out of 20. Next, you convert 14 to a T-score using the SCAS norms table.

One set of norms covers every child

The SCAS norms come from an Australian community sample of 1,368 preschoolers aged 3 to 6. Age and gender effects were too small to justify separate norms. As a result, one set of norms and T-scores applies to every child, whatever their age or gender.

T-scores are scaled to a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10. Use the published table rather than a conversion chart of unknown origin.

Reading T-scores: 60 flags a child, 65 is the clinical marker

A T-score of 60 or above is elevated, sometimes called borderline or sub-clinical. That’s about one standard deviation above the mean, around the 84th percentile. Many clinicians use 65 as the clinical cutoff, which marks roughly the top 6% of children.

Common scoring mistakes that skew results

Most scoring errors come from mixing versions or reading too much into one number. Watch for these five.

When those signs appear, a childhood ADHD questionnaire or a pediatric depression screening tool helps you separate the threads.

Research backs both versions of the scale

The original study (Spence et al., 2001) asked parents of a large community sample to rate their children. A five-subscale model fit the data best, with all five linked to a general anxiety factor.

The revised version has the most published figures. Edwards and colleagues (2010) tested it with 764 mothers and 418 fathers of children aged 3 to 5. They reported these results:

Scores also tracked emotional distress, diagnosed anxiety disorders and observed anxious behavior. These figures describe the PAS-R, so label them that way when you report on the original form. The abstract is in the published study.

PAS, SCAS or SCARED: picking the right tool

Clinicians choosing an anxiety screen usually weigh age range, who answers and how the subscales fit. The PAS is most often compared with the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale and the SCARED.

Choose the tool that matches the child’s age and your question. For a child past preschool age, the SCAS or a SCARED questionnaire fits better.

Is it free? Licensing terms to check first

The scale is copyrighted, and the terms depend on who’s using it. According to the SCAS website, these rules apply:

• Researchers and individual practitioners can use it free of charge.
• Commercial or for-profit use needs a license.
• Not-for-profit and government services need the author’s permission.
• The wording can’t be modified, so give parents the scale as published.

If your practice runs as a business, check which group you fall into before adding the form to routine intake.

Getting the questionnaire back before the first session

Paper forms filled in at reception tend to come back rushed, often with a toddler on the parent’s lap. Sending the questionnaire ahead lets the parent spend the few minutes it takes at home, without distractions.

Pabau, the practice platform we build, lets you send digital intake forms before the appointment. Completed answers land on the child’s patient record, so the clinician starts the session with the scores in view.

Because results sit beside notes and bookings, repeating the scale after treatment and comparing the two takes minutes. That joined-up record is what simpler therapy practice management looks like day to day.

Get parent questionnaires back before the visit

Pabau sends intake forms and questionnaires ahead of appointments and files each response on the patient record. Your team spends less time chasing paperwork and more time with families.

Book a demo

Conclusion

The preschool anxiety scale works best as a quick, structured first look. It turns a parent’s worries into five scores you can compare with other children of the same age.

Treat 60 as a reason to look closer and 65 as the common clinical marker. Then let the clinical interview make the call, not the number.

Before you add it to intake, confirm your form is the original version and your use fits the license terms. Book a demo to see how Pabau gets parent questionnaires completed and filed before the first session.

Continue your research

Screening for low mood as well? Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) covers a self-report depression screen for school-age children.

Seeing social withdrawal in a toddler? M-CHAT autism screening checklist explains the parent-completed autism screen used at 16 to 30 months.

Planning exposure work for a specific fear? Fear hierarchy worksheet helps you rank feared situations and plan gradual steps.

Working with older children? SCARED anxiety screening template gives you the anxiety screen built for children and teens.

Looking at mental health workflows? Mental health EMR software covers documentation needs across a mental health practice.

Frequently asked questions