Abstract
Movement imagery is the ability to mentally perform an action without physically performing the movement. Several self-report questionnaires have been developed to assess movement imagery ability in adults (e.g. Movement Imagery Questionnaire Revised [MIQ-R]). There is a dearth of movement imagery questionnaires developed for use with children. To address this problem, the MIQ-3, an updated version of the MIQ-R, was adapted for use with children, using cognitive interviewing (MIQ-C).The purpose of this presentation is to describe the process undertaken for the development of the MIQ-C and report the findings regarding movement imagery abilities in children 7-12 years. Adaptation for children resulted in simplified instructions, including the use of pictures. The final version of the MIQ-C was administered to 202 children (Boys: M age = 9; Girls: M age = 9.27) which required them to physically perform specific movements prior to imaging each movement. They were asked to rate the difficulty of imaging the movements on a 7pt Likert scale from an internal or external visual perspective, or kinesthetically. The main effects for Age and Gender were not significant (p's >.05); however, results revealed imaging movements kinesthetically (M=4.87) is significantly more difficult for children than imaging from either an internal (M=5.26) or external (M=5.47) visual modality (p <.001). These findings with children are consistent with those from adult populations (Williams et al., 2011).Acknowledgments: Supported by New Research Initiatives of the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa