Reliability and validity of the Polish version of the Movement Imagery Questionnaire-3 (MIQ-3)

Abstract

<b>Background</b><br /> Imagery is often beneficial not only in gaining a psychological advantage when competing but also in building self-esteem and self-confidence. The aim of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of the Polish adaptation of the Movement Imagery Questionnaire-3 (MIQ-3), consisting of 12 questions measuring 3 dimensions: visual internal imagery, visual external imagery and kinesthetic imagery.<br /> <br /> <b>Participants and procedure</b><br /> A sample of athletes (N = 276 – 102 women, 174 men (M = 21.25, SD = 6.35)) of various disciplines (football, volleyball, karate, swimming, etc.) with different sport experience (from recreation to the national team) filled in the MIQ-3 questionnaire in the Polish language.<br /> <br /> <b>Results</b><br /> The results of the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with maximum likelihood confirmed that the established three-factor model reflects well the relationships observed in the respondents’ answers (satisfactory value of RMSEA below the recommended value of .05 (RMSEA = .04) and a high value of the index above .90 CFI (CFI = .93)). Reliability indicators (composite reliability – CR) observed for individual factors indicated a very high internal consistency (external visual imagery = .75, internal visual imagery = .79 and kinesthetic imagery = .82). The results indicated that good stability and internal consistency were maintained over a 3-week period. In addition, analyses were examined across age, level of experience and gender.<br /> <br /> <b>Conclusions</b><br /> The results of the present study support the psychometric properties of the Polish adaptation of the MIQ-3.