Exploring the construct validity of the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire: A factor analytic study.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neurodiversity Studies
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Autistic individuals often employ 'camouflaging' strategies to navigate social environments, involving masking autistic traits.
• The Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q) is widely used to assess camouflaging, but its construct validity has been debated.
• Concerns exist regarding the CAT-Q's ability to differentiate camouflaging from related constructs like social anxiety and autistic social traits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the construct validity of the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q).
• To determine if CAT-Q items are distinguishable from measures of social anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, and autistic social traits.
• To provide empirical support for the CAT-Q as a valid measure of autistic camouflaging.

Main Methods:

• A study involving 308 autistic adults who completed the CAT-Q and validated measures of social anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, and autistic social traits.
• Exploratory factor analyses were conducted, analyzing CAT-Q items alongside items from the other measures.
• Statistical associations between camouflaging and related constructs were examined to assess collinearity and discriminant validity.

Main Results:

• Small-to-large positive associations were found between camouflaging and social anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, and autistic social traits (r = 0.14-0.65), not indicative of collinearity.
• Factor analyses revealed that CAT-Q items generally loaded onto separate factors from social anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, and autistic social traits items.
• The CAT-Q Assimilation subscale showed some cross-loading with autistic social traits items, suggesting a potential area for refinement.

Conclusions:

• The findings support the construct validity of the CAT-Q, indicating it differentiates from, while being positively associated with, social anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, and autistic social traits.
• The CAT-Q is a valid instrument for measuring autistic camouflaging behaviors.
• Further research may be needed to refine specific subscales, such as Assimilation, to enhance discriminant validity.