The development of the Negative Mental Imagery Questionnaire (MIQ-N)

Florentina Ecaterina Oaie; Joanne L. Bower; Craig Steel

doi:10.1017/S1352465824000304

The development of the Negative Mental Imagery Questionnaire (MIQ-N)

Florentina Ecaterina Oaie
, Joanne L. Bower
, Craig Steel

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

17 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Background: Mental imagery plays a key role in the onset and maintenance of psychological disorders, and has become the target of psychological interventions for the treatment of several anxiety-related conditions. However, there are currently no transdiagnostic measures designed to assess the varied dimensions of mental imagery relevant to psychopathology.

Aim: To develop and validate a new measure assessing the experiences and appraisals of negative mental imagery.

Method: The initial item pool was generated through a comprehensive literature review and interviews with subject-matter experts. An online community sample provided data for the exploratory (n = 345) and confirmatory (n = 325) factor analyses.

Results: The new 16-item Negative Mental Imagery Questionnaire demonstrated four subscales (Intrusiveness, Controllability, Beliefs about Mental Imagery, and Realness). Reliability and validity were good to excellent for both the full- and sub-scales.

Conclusions: Appraisals of mental imagery captured by the new measure are consistent with previous research on mental imagery and psychopathology.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	17-29
Number of pages	13
Journal	Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy
Volume	53
Issue number	1
Early online date	18 Oct 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/S1352465824000304
Publication status	Published - Mar 2025

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

Intrusive Images
Mental Imagery
Negative Images
Questionnaire development
trans-diagnostic
negative images
intrusive images
questionnaire
mental imagery

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10.1017/S1352465824000304Licence: CC BY

Oaie_etal_2025_BCPFinal published version, 222 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "The development of the Negative Mental Imagery Questionnaire (MIQ-N)",

abstract = "Background: Mental imagery plays a key role in the onset and maintenance of psychological disorders, and has become the target of psychological interventions for the treatment of several anxiety-related conditions. However, there are currently no transdiagnostic measures designed to assess the varied dimensions of mental imagery relevant to psychopathology. Aim: To develop and validate a new measure assessing the experiences and appraisals of negative mental imagery. Method: The initial item pool was generated through a comprehensive literature review and interviews with subject-matter experts. An online community sample provided data for the exploratory (n = 345) and confirmatory (n = 325) factor analyses. Results: The new 16-item Negative Mental Imagery Questionnaire demonstrated four subscales (Intrusiveness, Controllability, Beliefs about Mental Imagery, and Realness). Reliability and validity were good to excellent for both the full- and sub-scales. Conclusions: Appraisals of mental imagery captured by the new measure are consistent with previous research on mental imagery and psychopathology.",

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author = "Oaie, \{Florentina Ecaterina\} and Bower, \{Joanne L.\} and Craig Steel",

note = "Data availability statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, C.S. Funding information: This research did not receive any specific grant form any funding agency, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.",

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doi = "10.1017/S1352465824000304",

language = "English",

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AU - Oaie, Florentina Ecaterina

AU - Bower, Joanne L.

AU - Steel, Craig

N1 - Data availability statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, C.S. Funding information: This research did not receive any specific grant form any funding agency, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

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N2 - Background: Mental imagery plays a key role in the onset and maintenance of psychological disorders, and has become the target of psychological interventions for the treatment of several anxiety-related conditions. However, there are currently no transdiagnostic measures designed to assess the varied dimensions of mental imagery relevant to psychopathology. Aim: To develop and validate a new measure assessing the experiences and appraisals of negative mental imagery. Method: The initial item pool was generated through a comprehensive literature review and interviews with subject-matter experts. An online community sample provided data for the exploratory (n = 345) and confirmatory (n = 325) factor analyses. Results: The new 16-item Negative Mental Imagery Questionnaire demonstrated four subscales (Intrusiveness, Controllability, Beliefs about Mental Imagery, and Realness). Reliability and validity were good to excellent for both the full- and sub-scales. Conclusions: Appraisals of mental imagery captured by the new measure are consistent with previous research on mental imagery and psychopathology.

AB - Background: Mental imagery plays a key role in the onset and maintenance of psychological disorders, and has become the target of psychological interventions for the treatment of several anxiety-related conditions. However, there are currently no transdiagnostic measures designed to assess the varied dimensions of mental imagery relevant to psychopathology. Aim: To develop and validate a new measure assessing the experiences and appraisals of negative mental imagery. Method: The initial item pool was generated through a comprehensive literature review and interviews with subject-matter experts. An online community sample provided data for the exploratory (n = 345) and confirmatory (n = 325) factor analyses. Results: The new 16-item Negative Mental Imagery Questionnaire demonstrated four subscales (Intrusiveness, Controllability, Beliefs about Mental Imagery, and Realness). Reliability and validity were good to excellent for both the full- and sub-scales. Conclusions: Appraisals of mental imagery captured by the new measure are consistent with previous research on mental imagery and psychopathology.

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The development of the Negative Mental Imagery Questionnaire (MIQ-N)

Abstract

UN SDGs

Keywords

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