The Use and Misuse of the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire in Autism Research and Clinical Practice: Issues, Considerations, and Suggestions

In this Perspective, we summarize the evidence to date around the use of the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q) as a tool in research and clinical settings, and offer suggestions for its future use. We highlight that the CAT-Q is a useful measure of camouflaging/masking for research purposes, although questions remain regarding sociocultural variation in camouflaging experiences, and its specificity regarding autistic camouflaging compared with impression management more generally. With respect to clinical practice, we note that very little research has examined the use of the CAT-Q in clinical settings to date, and we encourage clinicians to be mindful of this limited evidence base and to refrain from using CAT-Q scores in diagnostic decision-making or as an intervention monitoring/outcome tool.