Comprehensive Autistic Trait Inventory
UPDATE March 2024: We are currently performing an evaluation of the CATI with over 1000 autistic adults. This analysis will provide further details on how autistic traits as measured by the CATI differ for people who are non-autistic, diagnosed autistic, and self-identifying autistic, and for cis-males, cis-females, and gender diverse groups. A pre-print will be available soon, and a poster presentation on this work will be presented at the 2024 INSAR conference held in Melbourne, Australia, in May.
The Comprehensive Autistic Trait Inventory, or CATI, is a self-report questionnaire that provides a valid measure of autistic traits in adults in the general population.
It contains 42 statements that span six different areas, or 'dimensions', associated with autism. When it is completed, the total-scale score provides an overall measure of autistic traits, and six subscale scores each provide a measure of autistic traits in a specific area or dimension. The six subscales include:
- Social Interactions
- Communication
- Social Camouflage
- Repetitive Behaviours
- Cognitive Rigidity
- Sensory Sensitivity
The CATI was primarily developed for use by researchers interested in quantifying autistic traits within members of the general population. It is currently NOT clinically-validated and therefore not advised to be used as an assessment tool for diagnosing autism.
The questionnaire was designed and psychometrically evaluated by reseachers at the University of Western Australia (UWA), with input from collaborators at Telethon Kids Institute and the University of British Columbia. The initial items and factors were developed in collaboration and consultation with other autism researchers and clinicians, and autistic individuals at UWA.
The Open Access manuscript outlining the development and validation of the CATI in detail can be accessed at Molecular Autism.
Take the questionnaire
Download questionnaire materials
This project was supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery Project government grant (DP190103286) and the University of Western Australia.