Behavioral-social-emotional health screening
A behavioral-social-emotional health screening reviews the child's behavioral/social/emotional health, as well as factors that could potentially impact the child's behavioral/social/emotional health, including societal factors (eg, SDoH, racism, poverty, toxic stress, domestic violence, food, and housing needs, etc) and primary caregiver mental health concerns. Parent/caregiver mental health conditions and addiction are frequently comorbid conditions. Pediatricians can assess birth parents and other primary caregivers for mental and emotional health.
The following example screening tools can be used and/or adapted by the practices for identifying concerns:
| Child Behavior Screen |
Applicable Ages |
| Baby Pediatric Symptom Checklist |
For ages <18 months |
| Brief Infant Toddler Social Emotional Assessment (BITSEA) |
For ages 12-36 months |
| Preschool Pediatric Symptom Checklist |
For ages 18-65 months |
| Strengths And Difficulties Questionnaire |
For ages 3 -17 years |
| Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional, Second Edition (ASQ: SE) |
For ages 1-72 months |
| Psychosocial Screen |
| WE-CARE Survey |
All ages |
| Family Psychosocial Screen |
| Survey of Well-being of Young Children (SWYC) |
For ages 2-60 months |
| Safe Environment for Every Kid (SEEK) Parent Questionnaire – R |
For ages 0-5 years |
| Adverse Child Experience Score |
For ages 0-19 years |
| Center for Youth Wellness ACE Questionnaire (CYW ACE-Q) |
For ages 0-19 years |
| Pediatric ACEs and Related Life Events (PEARLS) Screener |
For ages 0-19 years |
| The EveryONE Project Social Needs Screening Tool (American Academy of Family Physicians) |
All ages |
| Health Leads Social Needs Screening Toolkit |
All ages |
| Hunger Vital Signs |
All ages |
| IHELP (Income, Insurance, Hunger, Housing, Homeless, Education Safety, Legal Status, Power of Attorney) Social History Tool |
All ages |
| Protocol for Responding to and Addressing Patient’s Assets, Risks, and Experiences (PRAPARE) |
All ages |
| Caregiver Mental Health |
| Patient Health Questionnaire 2 (PHQ-2) |
For parent/caregiver |
| Edinburgh maternal depression screen |
For parent/caregiver |
| Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) |
For parent/caregiver |
For more information, see the AAP policy statement, Promoting Optimal Development: Screening for Behavioral and Emotional Problems. For a comprehensive list of screening tools, see the STAR Center Screening Tool Finder.