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Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire (CAQ)3

Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire (CAQ) Test

With 25 questions, the Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire (CAQ) Test takes about five minutes to complete. It helps you recognise how you respond to distressing thoughts, images, and situations, offering a concise profile for self-reflection and a clearer view of your habitual coping patterns.

Questions: 255 minutes

Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire (CAQ): situation and reply bubbles

September 1, 2026September 1, 2026Material has been updatedOctober 2, 2025Material has been published

24,114 views

2,799 completions

2,247 likes

Daniel Hall Psychologist · Test reviewer

2,247 likes

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

Transformation of Images Into ThoughtsToIIT

Measures how often a person reduces emotional impact by converting distressing mental images into more abstract verbal thoughts.

example score13/25

13/25Low useexample score

5 – 16Low use

17 – 25High use

A score of 13 falls in the Low use range, suggesting this strategy is used relatively infrequently compared with higher scores.

Avoidance of Threatening StimuliAoTS

Measures how strongly a person tends to avoid situations, cues, or thoughts that feel threatening or anxiety-provoking.

example score16/25

16/25Low avoidanceexample score

5 – 16Low avoidance

17 – 25High avoidance

A score of 16 falls in the Low avoidance range, suggesting limited tendency to avoid anxiety-provoking triggers compared with higher scores.

DistractionD

Measures how often a person copes with unpleasant internal experiences by shifting attention to other activities or thoughts.

example score17/25

17/25Moderateexample score

5 – 16Low

17 – 18Moderate

19 – 25High

A score of 17 suggests a moderate tendency to use distraction by redirecting attention away from unpleasant thoughts or feelings.

Thought SubstitutionTS

Measures how often a person replaces anxious or unpleasant thoughts with more neutral or positive ones.

example score13/25

13/25Low useexample score

5 – 14Low use

15 – 25High use

A score of 13 suggests a relatively low tendency to replace unpleasant thoughts with more neutral or positive alternatives.

Thought SuppressionTS

Measures how often a person tries to push unwanted thoughts out of awareness when experiencing internal discomfort.

example score13/25

13/25Lowexample score

5 – 18Low

19 – 25High

A score of 13 falls in the Low range, suggesting thought suppression is used relatively infrequently as a coping strategy for intrusive thoughts.

Cognitive Avoidance ScaleCAS

Measures the overall tendency to manage distressing internal experiences by using cognitive avoidance strategies such as suppression, substitution, distraction, and avoiding triggers.

example score45/125

45/125Lowexample score

25 – 78Low

79 – 125High

A score of 45 falls in the Low range, suggesting a relatively lower overall reliance on cognitive strategies to avoid unpleasant or threatening thoughts.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Intrusive-thought strugglers

41%OF USERS

People bothered by recurring unwanted thoughts who want to see whether they cope by suppressing, distracting, or mentally shifting away from them.

Therapy-focused self improvers

34%OF USERS

Individuals currently in counseling or self-help work who want clearer insight into their avoidance patterns to choose more effective coping strategies.

Psychology and research users

25%OF USERS

Students, clinicians, and researchers who use brief measures to profile cognitive defenses and track changes over time.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Shaded area — where most people score

Dot — the average

You — your score lands on each curve after the test— your score, after the test

Transformation of Images into ThoughtsToIiT

You?

Average18

Typical rangeTypical15.3 – 20.7

Possible5 – 25

Avoidance of Threatening StimuliAoTS

You?

Average11.4

Typical rangeTypical8.5 – 14.3

Possible5 – 25

DistractionD

You?

Average13.4

Typical rangeTypical10.8 – 16.1

Possible5 – 25

Replacing ThoughtsRT

You?

Average15.9

Typical rangeTypical13.4 – 18.4

Possible5 – 25

Thought SuppressionTS

You?

Average19.9

Typical rangeTypical16.5 – 23.3

Possible5 – 25

Cognitive Avoidance ScaleCAS

You?

Average93.3

Typical rangeTypical75.4 – 111.1

Possible25 – 125

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

- Not at all characteristic of me
- Not characteristic of me
- Neither characteristic nor uncharacteristic of me
- Characteristic of me
- Completely characteristic of me
- Not at all characteristic of me
- Not characteristic of me
- Neither characteristic nor uncharacteristic
- Characteristic of me
- Completely characteristic of me
- Not at all characteristic of me
- Not characteristic of me
- Somewhat
- Characteristic of me
- Completely characteristic of me

These are 3 of the 25 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire (CAQ) Test - Description and methodology of the test

cbt

People who notice recurring efforts to push away upsetting thoughts, images, or situations can use this questionnaire to examine those patterns more closely. The Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire (CAQ) Test offers a focused profile for self-reflection about anxiety-provoking inner experiences. This cognitive avoidance assessment highlights which coping responses appear most prominent, helping readers consider how they manage distress in daily life.

What This Assessment Explores

Rather than judging thoughts, it examines responses to distressing images, worries, reminders, and situations. It suits people reflecting on cognitive avoidance strategies under stress, while results describe tendencies rather than identity. These are the measured dimensions:

Transformation of Images Into Thoughts (5-25) measures turning frightening images into abstract inner speech; Low use 5-16, High use 17-25.
Avoidance of Threatening Stimuli (5-25) measures avoiding anxiety-provoking situations, objects, or thoughts; Low avoidance 5-16, High avoidance 17-25.
Distraction (5-25) measures shifting attention to other activities or thoughts; Low 5-16, Moderate 17-18, High 19-25.
Thought Substitution (5-25) measures replacing unpleasant thoughts with neutral or positive content; Low use 5-14, High use 15-25.
Thought Suppression (5-25) measures trying to push unwanted thoughts from awareness; Low 5-18, High 19-25.
Cognitive Avoidance Scale (25-125) measures overall use of these strategies during stress; Low 25-78, High 79-125.

Methodology and Scientific Basis

The self-report cognitive-avoidance approach uses a five-point response format, with choices from 1 to 5 describing how characteristic or typical a reaction is. Items address trigger avoidance, image transformation, distraction, thought substitution, and suppression. Responses are combined into the displayed subscales and total score, and each resulting value is interpreted through the bands shown for its scale, giving the reader a profile of reported strategy use across separate dimensions and the overall pattern.

This cognitive avoidance questionnaire is conceptually consistent with the published Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire (CAQ). Sexton and Dugas (2008) validated its English version; Gosselin and colleagues developed the instrument, and Latorre Postigo and colleagues examined its factor structure. The cited studies’ samples, norms, and psychometric estimates cannot automatically be generalized to this online version.

Results are interpretive rather than diagnostic: the displayed bands are labels for this questionnaire, not independently established clinical cutoffs. Self-report can shift with current stress, memory, self-awareness, and willingness to acknowledge private habits. The profile is most useful when read alongside the situations in which these strategies occur and their broader impact.

Literature:

Sexton, K. A., & Dugas, M. J. (2008). The Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire: Validation of the English translation. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 22(3), 355-370. 10.1016/j.janxdis.2007.04.005
Gosselin, P., Langlois, F., Freeston, M. H., Ladouceur, R., Dugas, M. J., & Pelletier, O. (2002). The Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire (CAQ): Development and validation among adults and adolescents. Journal de Thérapie Comportementale et Cognitive, 12(1), 24-37
Latorre Postigo, J. M., Nieto López, M., Font Payeras, M. A., Ros Segura, L., Heras, J., & Ricarte Trives, J. J. (2020). Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire: Factor structure and psychometric properties. Anales de Psicología, 36(3), 457-467. 10.6018/analesps.397711

Updated: 2026-09-01