How we navigate social interactions is often complex, especially for autistic adults. Many invest significant effort in Camouflaging - strategies aimed at concealing or compensating for autistic traits in social contexts. While these behaviors can aid integration, they can be exhausting and impact personal well-being. Since social norms and expectations vary across cultures, it is important to have appropriate and culturally adapted tools to measure this phenomenon.
A study published in the journal Autism, 2026 Aug, focused on the cultural adaptation and validation of the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q) for its Persian version. The study's objective was to test the reliability of the questionnaire and how it functions among adults in Iran with high and low levels of autistic traits. The study followed a rigorous translation process (forward-backward) and included a review by a team of experts, after which the questionnaire was administered to approximately 948 eligible participants, all adults.
The researchers found that the Persian version of the questionnaire supports the original three-factor structure: Compensation (active management of social situations), Masking (hiding autistic traits), and Assimilation (attempting to blend in by suppressing one's natural style). Extensive tests confirmed the questionnaire's validity and high internal consistency. Another important finding is that the questionnaire functions similarly among individuals with varying levels of autistic traits, allowing for fair comparisons between groups.
These findings are extremely important for autistic adults. They reinforce the understanding that camouflaging effort is a universal phenomenon, but requires culturally sensitive measurement tools. The adapted tool can be used in future research and can help to better understand the hidden social effort many invest, and the support they may need. Recognizing the existence and effects of the camouflaging mechanism is an important step in promoting the well-being of autistic adults.
However, it is important to remember that the findings should be interpreted with attention to the cultural context, and that the "Assimilation" subscale showed relatively lower reliability compared to the other two subscales. This is a limitation that should be addressed in future research and in the use of the questionnaire.