Social camouflaging (CAT-Q)
The CAT-Q describes compensation, masking and assimilation. Developed from autistic adults’ accounts, it was studied in autistic and non-autistic adults. It is not an autism diagnostic tool.
Evidence passport
Instrument and scoring
- Scientific name
- Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q)
- NuraCheck implementation version
- 1.0.0
- Scoring method
- Published sum score
- Score shown
- Overall score and dimensions
- Primary reference
- Hull L, Mandy W, Lai MC, Baron-Cohen S, Allison C, Smith P, Petrides KV. Development and Validation of the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q). Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2019;49:819–833. Open publication
- Published scoring source
- Published scoring source
- Exact form or administration source
- Exact form or administration source
Who and where the evidence may apply
Evidence comes from particular studies and language versions, so its relevance can vary.
- Intended audience
- Adults reflecting on the effort and strategies they use in social interactions.
- Language version shown
- English (en) · Base wording used by this NuraCheck implementation
- Study participants and settings
- The cited online study included 832 people: 354 formally diagnosed autistic adults and 478 non-autistic adults (mean age 36; range 16–82; 300 men, 434 women, 46 people of another gender and 52 not stated). Recruitment through social media, a UK autism research database and word of mouth limits population-wide comparisons.
Review the study used for these details
Scores do not capture culture, minority stress, disability or barriers to support. These factors can shape responses.
The evidence cannot determine whether a questionnaire fits you personally. NuraCheck does not ask for or infer identity to decide this.
Language provenance
- Language version shown
- English (en) · Base wording used by this NuraCheck implementation
- Wording scope
- Full instrument
- Independent language review
- Not recorded separately for the base wording
Base-wording source recorded by NuraCheck
Language provenance and independent validation are different. NuraCheck does not infer a reviewer or review date when the evidence record does not name one.
Licence and permitted use
- Licence status
- Permission granted
- Rights holder or steward
- Hull et al.
- Permission record checked
- Jul 17, 2026
- Electronic use
- Allowed by the reviewed permission record
- Translation
- Allowed by the reviewed permission record
The CAT-Q by Hull et al. is licensed under CC BY 4.0. NuraCheck changed the presentation for the web and translated the questionnaire; the published scoring is unchanged.
The questionnaire appendix is linked as electronic supplementary material immediately before the article's CC BY 4.0 rights statement.
What this questionnaire cannot answer
The CAT-Q depends on recognizing your own social strategies. Scores can overlap with anxiety, learned skills and impression management, and cannot explain why a strategy is used or whether it helps or harms you.
What this covers
- Compensation
- Learned, planned or copied strategies used to navigate social interactions.
- Masking
- Monitoring or changing outward behaviour and expressions during social interactions.
- Assimilation
- Effort involved in fitting in, performing or forcing participation in social situations.
What your result can show
Higher scores mean more self-reported camouflaging. There is no diagnostic cutoff.
Important limitations
The CAT-Q depends on recognizing your own social strategies. Scores can overlap with anxiety, learned skills and impression management, and cannot explain why a strategy is used or whether it helps or harms you.