French translation and validation of the Movement Imagery Questionnaire-third version (MIQ-3f)

Abstract

Objectives: Imagery ability is a variable influencing the effectiveness of imagery practice that can be estimated by means of questionnaires. Among them, the Movement Imagery Questionnaire-Revised, translated and validated in French, is widely used by French speakers. However, it does not allow for the distinction between the two visual imagery perspectives (internal vs. external). The Movement Imagery Questionnaire-3 has been recently proposed in the English literature to differentiate between the ease of performing internal visual, external visual and kinesthetic imagery. The aim of this study was to translate and validate a French version of this questionnaire (MIQ-3f). Method: We examined the validity of constructs, internal consistency, and test-retest inter-rate reliability of the visual and kinesthetic items of the MIQ-3f in 272 healthy participants (Mage = 20.26 years, SD = 1.73). Results: The internal consistency (composite reliability scores ≥ 0.88 for the three subscales) and test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients: 0.87 for visual internal imagery, 0.86 for visual external imagery, and 0.88 for kinesthetic imagery) of the MIQ-3f were satisfactory. The three-factor structure (with 4 items for each factor) was supported by confirmatory factor analysis. The MIQ-3f appears to be a valid and reliable instrument that can be used to assess imagery ability in French speakers.