A Psychometric Analysis of the Chinese Version of the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire Among Adolescents in Chinese Mainland

In the complex world of human connection, there is a quiet, often exhausting effort that many people make to fit in. This effort is known as social camouflaging. It is not merely being polite or shy; it is a deliberate set of strategies where an individual hides their natural social instincts to appear more like everyone else. They might force themselves to make eye contact when it feels unnatural, memorize scripts for conversations, or mimic the body language of others to avoid standing out. While this behavior is well-known among people with autism, recent science suggests it is also common among people who do not have autism, particularly during the teenage years. Adolescence is a time when the desire to be accepted by peers is at its peak, and the fear of being judged is at its highest. In this period, young people often feel a pressure to mask their true selves to navigate a social world that can feel confusing and demanding. Understanding how and why this happens, and whether we can measure it accurately, is crucial for understanding the mental health and social development of young people today.

A team of researchers in mainland China set out to test a specific tool designed to measure this behavior, known as the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire. They wanted to see if a version of this questionnaire, translated and adapted for the simplified Chinese language, would work well for teenagers and young adults in their region. The original tool was designed to capture three distinct ways people camouflage: masking (hiding one's true self), compensation (learning social rules to make up for difficulties), and assimilation (trying to blend in completely). The researchers recruited over 800 students from middle schools and universities to take the survey. Their goal was to see if the questions made sense to these young people and if the tool could reliably distinguish between the different types of hiding behaviors.

The process of testing the tool involved a careful review of every single question. The researchers found that five of the original twenty-five questions did not work well for this specific group of young people. For instance, one question asked about whether eye contact was unnecessary; for most teenagers without autism, eye contact is a standard, automatic part of talking, so this question did not help measure the act of hiding. Other questions about mimicking body language or learning social rules from observation were also removed because they did not clearly separate different types of camouflaging in this sample. After removing these five items, the remaining twenty questions formed a clean, three-part structure that matched the original design. The researchers confirmed that this shortened version worked consistently across different ages, from early teens to young adults, and for both boys and girls. This means the tool can be used to compare groups fairly without the results being skewed by who is answering.

The study also looked at how this behavior connects to other aspects of a young person's life. The researchers found that higher scores on the camouflage scale were linked to higher levels of autistic traits, which is expected, but also to the use of negative coping strategies. When faced with stress, young people who camouflage more tended to use less helpful ways of dealing with problems. Interestingly, the part of the scale that measured "assimilation"—the urge to blend in so perfectly that one feels like they are pretending to be normal—was the strongest link to negative coping. This suggests that the effort to completely erase one's differences might be more draining than simply hiding a specific trait. The tool proved to be reliable, meaning if a person took the test again a few weeks later, they would likely get a similar score, and the questions were distinct enough from other measures of anxiety or social skills to be considered a unique tool.

However, the researchers are careful to note that this study focused on young people from the general population, not those with a clinical diagnosis of autism. While the tool works well for the group they tested, it still needs to be checked against groups with diagnosed autism to ensure it captures the full picture of social camouflaging. The study also highlighted that while the tool is now ready for use in mainland China, the specific cultural context of growing up in a collectivist society, where fitting in is highly valued, might shape how these behaviors look and feel. By refining this questionnaire, the researchers have provided a clearer lens through which to view the hidden struggles of adolescents. They have shown that the act of camouflaging is not just a single behavior but a complex mix of strategies that can be measured, understood, and eventually addressed to support the mental well-being of young people navigating the difficult waters of social life.