CAT-Q: measuring autistic camouflaging

Camouflaging is the umbrella term researchers use for the strategies some people use to fit in socially: hiding traits that might stand out, working hard behind the scenes to manage conversations, and pushing themselves into social situations to blend with others. Many autistic adults, especially those identified late, describe years of doing this without having a word for it. The CAT-Q was the first questionnaire built to measure it directly, and it was built from what autistic adults themselves described.

Key facts

Full name

Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q)

Authors

Hull L, Mandy W, Lai MC, Baron-Cohen S, Allison C, Smith P, Petrides KV

Published

2019, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

Items

25 statements

Answer format

Seven points from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (7)

Score range

25 to 175; higher means more camouflaging

Factors

Compensation, masking and assimilation

License

Open access under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0

The three factors

• Compensation (9 statements): active strategies to make up for social difficulties, such as studying how others behave or preparing what to say.
• Masking (8 statements): monitoring and adjusting how you come across, so that others do not notice differences.
• Assimilation (8 statements): pushing yourself to blend in, often while feeling like you are performing or do not belong.

Looking at the three factors separately is often more revealing than the total. Two people with the same total might camouflage in very different ways: one through careful preparation, the other through constant self-monitoring.

How it was developed and tested

Why the CAT-Q is not an autism test

The CAT-Q measures behaviors, not autism itself. Non-autistic people camouflage too, for example someone with social anxiety who rehearses every conversation, or a person who hides who they are at work because of stigma. The 2019 paper reported no diagnostic cut-off, and a high score cannot tell you whether the reason you camouflage is autism.

Why camouflaging matters

Camouflaging can help people get through job interviews, keep friendships and avoid bullying. It can also be exhausting and can make difficulties invisible to doctors, teachers and employers. Research has linked heavier camouflaging with poorer mental health, including anxiety and depression, in autistic adults, though the direction of cause is still being studied. If you score high and feel worn out, that is worth taking seriously and talking about.

CAT-Q and RAADS-R together

People often take both, and they answer different questions. The RAADS-R asks how many autistic experiences you report now and in childhood. The CAT-Q asks how much effort you put into hiding or compensating for social differences. Someone who camouflages heavily may score lower on trait questionnaires than their experience warrants, which is one reason clinicians are interested in camouflaging. Even together, the two cannot diagnose autism.

A short form

Take the CAT-Q free

Because the CAT-Q was published under a Creative Commons Attribution license, SpectrumFox offers the official 25 statements and official scoring free at our CAT-Q tool, with full credit to the authors. Your result shows your total and three factor scores. We present it as a measure of camouflaging only, never as a sign of whether autism explains your experiences.

• Take the CAT-Q: the Camouflaging Autistic Traits QuestionnaireTake the official Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q) free online: 25 items, the official scoring, your total and three factor scores.
• CAT-Q scoring and score rangesHow CAT-Q scoring works: a 1 to 7 scale, five reverse-scored items, totals of 25 to 175, factor ranges and average scores from the 2019 study.