Exploring the Construct Validity of the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire: A Factor Analytic Study
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| Title: | Exploring the Construct Validity of the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire: A Factor Analytic Study |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Katharine McKinnon (ORCID |
| Source: | Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice. 2025 29(3):642-658. |
| Availability: | SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 17 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Foreign Countries, Adults, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Attitudes toward Disabilities, Normalization (Disabilities), Inclusion, Interpersonal Competence, Test Reliability, Sense of Belonging, Test Validity, Anxiety, Acculturation, Social Differences, Social Adjustment, Social Desirability, Social Distance, Social Behavior, Behavior Standards, Social Cognition |
| Geographic Terms: | Australia |
| DOI: | 10.1177/13623613241287964 |
| ISSN: | 1362-3613 1461-7005 |
| Abstract: | 'Camouflaging' is a set of strategies used by autistic people to hide or compensate for their autistic characteristics to fit into predominantly non-autistic social environments. Many researchers have used the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q) to measure camouflaging. However, there have been questions about the construct validity of the CAT-Q as a measurement of camouflaging. The present study examined the extent to which CAT-Q items were distinguishable from other theoretically and empirically related measures of social anxiety, fear of negative evaluation and autistic social traits. Autistic adults (N = 308) completed the CAT-Q and social anxiety, fear of negative evaluation and autistic social traits measures. The small-to-large positive associations between camouflaging and social anxiety, fear of negative evaluation and autistic social traits (r = 0.14-0.65) were not indicative of collinearity. Three exploratory factor analyses, in which CAT-Q items were factor-analysed together with social anxiety, fear of negative evaluation and autistic social traits items respectively, showed that CAT-Q items generally loaded onto different factors from social anxiety, fear of negative evaluation and autistic social traits items, with the exception of the CAT-Q Assimilation subscale items, which cross-loaded mostly with autistic social traits items. Overall, the CAT-Q items were positively associated with, but also differentiated from, most social anxiety, fear of negative evaluation and autistic social traits items, providing support for the measure's construct validity. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1465396 |
| Database: | ERIC |
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