Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire, CAQ Test - the question form
Questions: 25 · 5 minutes
1. There are things I prefer not to think about.
1 – Not at all characteristic of me
2 – Not characteristic of me
3 – Neither characteristic nor uncharacteristic of me
4 – Characteristic of me
5 – Completely characteristic of me
2. I avoid certain situations that draw my attention to things I do not want to think about.
1 – Not at all characteristic of me
2 – Not characteristic of me
3 – Neither characteristic nor uncharacteristic
4 – Characteristic of me
5 – Completely characteristic of me
3. I replace threatening mental images by repeating something in my mind.
1 – Not at all characteristic of me
2 – Not characteristic of me
3 – Somewhat
4 – Characteristic of me
5 – Completely characteristic of me
4. I think about things that worry me as if they were happening to someone else.
1 – Not at all typical
2 – Not typical
3 – Somewhere in between
4 – Typical
5 – Completely typical
5. I have thoughts that I try to avoid.
1 – Not at all characteristic
2 – Not characteristic
3 – Neither characteristic nor uncharacteristic
4 – Characteristic
5 – Absolutely characteristic
6. I try not to think about the most unpleasant aspects of certain situations so that I do not become too afraid.
1 – Not at all typical
2 – Not typical
3 – Neither typical nor untypical
4 – Typical
5 – Completely typical
7. I sometimes avoid things that might trigger unpleasant thoughts.
1 – Not at all typical
2 – Not typical
3 – Somewhat in between
4 – Typical
5 – Completely typical
8. I distract myself with something to avoid thinking about certain things that worry me.
1 - Not at all typical of me
2 - Not typical of me
3 - Somewhat
4 - Typical of me
5 - Completely typical of me
9. I avoid people who make me think about things I do not want to think about.
1 – Not at all typical of me
2 – Not typical of me
3 – Somewhere in between
4 – Typical of me
5 – Completely typical of me
10. I often do something to distract myself from my thoughts.
1 – Not at all characteristic of me
2 – Not characteristic of me
3 – Neither characteristic nor uncharacteristic of me
4 – Characteristic of me
5 – Completely characteristic of me
11. I think about everyday trivial matters to avoid thinking about important things that worry me.
1 – Not at all characteristic
2 – Not characteristic
3 – Neither characteristic nor uncharacteristic
4 – Characteristic
5 – Completely characteristic
12. I sometimes immerse myself completely in an activity so that I do not think about certain things.
1 - Not at all characteristic
2 - Not characteristic
3 - Neither characteristic nor uncharacteristic
4 - Characteristic
5 - Absolutely characteristic
13. To avoid thoughts about things that upset me, I make myself think about something else.
1 - Not at all characteristic
2 - Not characteristic
3 - Somewhat characteristic
4 - Characteristic
5 - Absolutely characteristic
14. There are things I try not to think about.
1 – Not at all characteristic of me
2 – Not characteristic of me
3 – Neither characteristic nor uncharacteristic
4 – Characteristic of me
5 – Completely characteristic of me
15. I mentally repeat something to myself to avoid imagining scenarios (a series of mental images) that frighten me.
1 – Not at all true for me
2 – Mostly not true for me
3 – Somewhat true for me
4 – True for me
5 – Completely true for me
16. I sometimes avoid places that make me think about things I would rather not think about.
1 – Not at all characteristic of me
2 – Not characteristic of me
3 – Neither characteristic nor uncharacteristic of me
4 – Characteristic of me
5 – Completely characteristic of me
17. I think about past events so that I do not think about the future, which makes me feel uncertain.
1 – Not at all typical of me
2 – Not typical of me
3 – Somewhere in between
4 – Typical of me
5 – Completely typical of me
18. I avoid activities that remind me of things I do not want to think about.
1 – Not at all characteristic of me
2 – Not characteristic of me
3 – Neither characteristic nor uncharacteristic of me
4 – Characteristic of me
5 – Very characteristic of me
19. When upsetting mental images come to mind, I say something to myself in my mind to replace those images.
1 – Not at all characteristic
2 – Uncharacteristic
3 – Neither characteristic nor uncharacteristic
4 – Characteristic
5 – Absolutely characteristic
20. I think about many small things so that I do not have to think about more important matters.
1 – Completely uncharacteristic of me
2 – Not characteristic of me
3 – Neither characteristic nor uncharacteristic of me
4 – Characteristic of me
5 – Completely characteristic of me
21. Sometimes I try to keep myself busy just to prevent thoughts from coming into my mind.
1 – Not at all typical of me
2 – Not typical of me
3 – Neither typical nor untypical of me
4 – Typical of me
5 – Completely typical of me
22. I avoid situations involving people who make me think about something unpleasant.
1 – Not at all characteristic of me
2 – Not characteristic of me
3 – Neither characteristic nor uncharacteristic
4 – Characteristic of me
5 – Very characteristic of me
23. Instead of picturing unpleasant events, I try to describe them to myself using an inner monologue (what I say to myself in my mind).
1 – Not at all characteristic of me
2 – Not characteristic of me
3 – Neither characteristic nor uncharacteristic
4 – Characteristic of me
5 – Completely characteristic of me
24. I push away mental images related to a threatening situation by describing the situation to myself in words.
1 - Not at all typical of me
2 - Not typical of me
3 - Neither typical nor untypical of me
4 - Typical of me
5 - Completely typical of me
25. I am more likely to think about things that worry other people than about my own concerns.
1 – Not at all typical of me
2 – Not typical of me
3 – Somewhere in between
4 – Typical of me
5 – Completely typical of me