Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q)

  • Author: Hull, L., Mandy, W., Lai, M. C., Baron-Cohen, S., Allison, C., Smith, P., & Petrides, K. V. (2019).
  • Sources: overview

Questions

Please read each statement below and choose the answer that best fits your experiences during social interactions.

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.






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. In my own social interactions, I use behaviours that I have learned from watching other people interacting.






9. I always think about the impression I make on other people.






10. I need the support of other people in order to socialise.






11. I practice my facial expressions and body language to make sure they look natural.






12. I don’t feel the need to make eye contact with other people if I don’t want to.






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 monitor my body language or facial expressions so that I appear interested by the person I am interacting with.






16. When in social situations, I try to find ways to avoid interacting with others.






17. I have researched the rules of social interactions to improve my own social skills.






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 have spent time learning social skills from television shows and films, and try to use these in my interactions.






24. In social interactions, I do not pay attention to what my face or body are doing.






25. In social situations, I feel like I am pretending to be ‘normal’.






Results

Please complete the above questions and click the `Score` button to process results.

The possible severities are: none (0+), extremely low (25+), low (52+), moderate (76+), high (113+), extremely high (137+).
The max possible score is 175. A higher score means a greater likelihood.