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Screening tools · Camouflaging

CAT-Q: Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire.

A 25-item questionnaire about compensation, masking and assimilation in social situations for people age 16 and older. It does not determine whether someone is autistic.

What this measure assesses

The CAT-Q describes compensation, masking and assimilation behaviours during social interaction. It takes approximately five to ten minutes.

Questionnaire

CAT-Q

Intended for: People age 16 and older; self-report

Choose the response that best describes your experiences during social interactions.

Your answers and score are not sent to BrainLab.

1. When I am interacting with someone, I deliberately copy their body language or facial expressions.
2. I monitor my body language or facial expressions so that I appear relaxed.
3. I rarely feel the need to put on an act in order to get through a social situation.
4. I have developed a script to follow in social situations (for example, a list of questions or topics of conversation).
5. I will repeat phrases that I have heard others say in the exact same way that I first heard them.
6. I adjust my body language or facial expressions so that I appear interested by the person I am interacting with.
7. In social situations, I feel like I’m ‘performing’ rather than being myself.
8. I have spent time learning social skills from television shows and films, and try to use these in my interactions.
9. I monitor my body language or facial expressions so that I appear interested by the person I am interacting with.
10. When in social situations, I try to find ways to avoid interacting with others.
11. I have researched the rules of social interactions (for example, by studying psychology or reading books on human behaviour) to improve my own social skills.
12. In social interactions, I do not pay attention to what my face or body are doing.
13. I have to force myself to interact with people when I am in social situations.
14. I have tried to improve my understanding of social skills by watching other people.
15. I always think about the impression I make on other people.
16. In social situations, I feel like I am pretending to be ‘normal’.
17. In my own social interactions, I use behaviours that I have learned from watching other people interacting.
18. I am always aware of the impression I make on other people.
19. I feel free to be myself when I am with other people.
20. I learn how people use their bodies and faces to interact by watching television or films, or by reading fiction.
21. I adjust my body language or facial expressions so that I appear relaxed.
22. When talking to other people, I feel like the conversation flows naturally.
23. I practice my facial expressions and body language to make sure they look natural.
24. I don’t feel the need to make eye contact with other people if I don’t want to.
25. I need the support of other people in order to socialise.

0 of 25 answered

Score guide

Understanding this score

Use the score as one piece of information. A screening questionnaire cannot establish a diagnosis or rule out a condition.

Score guide for CAT-Q

How scoring works

The 25 items are scored from 1 to 7. The total ranges from 25 to 175 and includes Compensation, Masking and Assimilation subscales.

Published ranges or thresholds

The original validation paper did not establish a diagnostic cut-off.

What a higher score may indicate

Higher totals indicate more reported camouflaging-related behaviour; they do not establish autism.

What a lower score may indicate

A lower score does not rule out masking, autism or substantial social effort.

Evidence and limitations

The CAT-Q reports compensation, masking and assimilation subscales as well as a total score. Camouflaging is not unique to autism, and the CAT-Q cannot determine whether someone is autistic or how effective a strategy is.

Screening vs assessment

A questionnaire is not a psychological assessment.

A questionnaire can help you notice patterns, but it does not diagnose, produce a psychological assessment report or replace professional evaluation. You do not need to complete one before requesting an assessment.

Compare screening and assessmentUse the Assessment Planner

When further support may be useful

A professional conversation may be useful if social interaction requires substantial effort, affects wellbeing or raises broader developmental questions.

Learn about autism assessment

Frequently asked questions

What are the three subscales?

Compensation describes strategies used to navigate social situations; masking describes hiding or monitoring presentation; assimilation describes trying to fit into social situations.

Is there a diagnostic cutoff?

No diagnostic cutoff is provided by the original validation paper.

Does a high score prove autism?

No. The CAT-Q measures camouflaging-related behaviours and is not an autism diagnostic test.

Source

Hull et al. — CAT-Q validation paper (opens in a new tab)

Copyright

© Hull et al. (2019). Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Reference

Next step

Explore related information without assuming a diagnosis.

Learn about autism assessment or choose another screening questionnaire.

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