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A personal and professional guide to research on imposterism and psychological flexibility, this book is the professional's handbook to combating 'impostor syndrome' and overcoming self-doubt to achieve career success. Dr Stoddard is a recovered imposter. For years, she was convinced that the only reason she was accepted into a competitive grad school programme was because her father knew the programme director. Dr Stoddard isn't alone in this: deep down, the majority of successful people question their professional legitimacy a good amount of the time. Although she's in recovery, Dr Stoddard still struggles with feelings of imposterism. She works through them with psychological flexibility, the ability to be present with all thoughts, emotions, physical sensations and urges, fully and without defence, while making conscious, deliberate choices based on what deeply matters to a person.

The Impostor Phenomenon (IP) is a characteristic, which is composed of cognitions of inauthenticity, in conjunction with fear of failure, as well as fear of being exposed as a fraud. The IP was first described by Clance (1985), who also developed an accompanying questionnaire. However, this questionnaire left room for optimization (item content, pysychometric properties, and the representing IP as a multidimensional construct). Therefore, we developed an item pool of 450 new items based on the theoretical foundation. The core element characteristics are measured using the theoretically derived scales: Competence Doubt, Working Style, Alienation, Other-Self Divergence, Frugality and Need for Sympathy. Based on a German sample (N = 771, 51% female), aged 18 to 70 years, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis resulted in a selection of 31 items. The six scales show satisfactory internal consistencies between .69 and .92. Initial construct validity showed positive correlations with convergent (Neuroticism) and discriminant measures (Self-Esteem). The Impostor-Profile (IPP31) is a theoretically founded multidimensional german questionnaire that can be applied in research and practice.

Although the imposter phenomenon (IP), characterized by fear of exposure as a fraud, is prevalent in higher education, studies disagree about its dimensionality, its relation to individual characteristics, and how IP relates to self-evaluation. Analyzing data from 959 graduate students and professionals in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), and medicine, we examined the psychometric properties of the Clance IP scale and evaluated IP’s conceptual clarity in relation to demographics and self-evaluation. Factor analyses yielded three factors: Self-Doubt, Fear of Evaluation, and Luck. Older age groups, people currently not in-training, and men had lower sub-scale IP scores. We created four IP groups using factor scores and found that “Fear IP” (low self-doubt/high fear) and “High IP” (high self-doubt/high fear) groups reported less positive self-evaluations than “Self-Doubt” IP (high self-doubt/low fear) and “Low IP” (low self-doubt/low fear) groups. Findings suggest different types of IP that includes more strategic self-presentations of ability, and the defining feature of IP may be fear rather than self-doubt, with implications on training in higher education.

Background Impostor phenomenon is a term used to describe feelings of intellectual and professional fraudulence. The Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale and the Leary Impostorism Scale are two self-report measures used to determine whether an individual experiences impostor phenomenon. This study examined the psychometric properties of both measures in healthcare simulation educators. Methods The study sample comprised 148 educators, 114 (77%) females, 34 (23%) males, who completed an online version of each instrument. Exploratory factor analysis was used to examine the factor structure of the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale and the Leary Impostorism Scale. Results Exploratory factor analysis revealed that for both instruments a one-factor solution best fit the data, suggesting all items in both measures fit onto a single theoretical construct. Both instruments demonstrated high internal reliability, with the Cronbach’s alpha for the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale being α = .96 and the Leary Impostorism Scale α = .95. Conclusions This study suggests that impostor phenomenon as measured by the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale and the Leary Impostorism Scale is a unidimensional construct among healthcare simulation educators. With a growing interest in impostor phenomenon, the present findings will assist researchers to evaluate the phenomenon in healthcare settings.

Background Concern over medical students’ well-being is a global issue, with studies showing high psychological distress rates. Impostor Phenomenon (IP), i.e., underestimating one’s abilities, attributing success to external factors, and feeling like a fraud, has been implicated as one reason behind these troubling findings. Meanwhile, resilience has been suggested to protect against psychological distress. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of IP and its association with resilience among undergraduate medical students. Methods The Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS), the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), and sociodemographic questions were completed by 457 medical students registered in their 2-10th semester at a Swedish university. Of the respondents, 62.6% identified as women, 36.1% as men, and 1.3% as others. Results The prevalence of IP was 58.4% (defined as CIPS score  ≥  62). According to the CIPS scoring guidelines, 10.3% of participants had low IP, 29.5% moderate, 41.6% frequent, and 18.6% intense IP. Of all participants, almost 90% experienced at least moderate and 60.2% frequent to intense IP. Women had significantly higher CIPS scores and lower BRS scores than men. In contrast, neither attending semester nor age group significantly impacted CIPS scores. Finally, there was a moderate inverse correlation between the level of resilience and the prevalence of IP. Conclusions Our findings suggest that the majority of Swedish medical students feels like an impostor, and of these students, most do so frequently. Furthermore, IP is more prevalent among female students – who also show lower levels of resilience. Moreover, our results indicated that IP could hinder achieving higher resilience. Future longitudinal studies should investigate how gender norms may contribute to IP feelings and explore the potential advantages of counteracting IP and strengthening resilience among medical students. However, targeted interventions addressing individual students’ IP and resilience are insufficient. There is also a need to address structural aspects of the educational environment, such as gender stereotypes, that may contribute to IP.

The Impostor Phenomenon (IP) describes self-perceptions of intellectual fraudulence despite external and/or objective feedback supporting one’s intellectual abilities [ 1 ]. Salari and colleagues [ 2 ] provided a meta-analysis of the IP among health service providers, aggregating data from 30 studies and 11,483 participants. One of their major aims was reporting the prevalence (i.e., the proportion of a population affected by a condition) of the IP. Therefore, they analyzed studies reporting prevalence rates. While we applaud the aspiration of Salari and colleagues in their work, we discuss why it is currently not suitable to interpret prevalence rates of the IP from a conceptual and methodological perspective.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore impostor syndrome or impostor phenomenon (IP), which is defined as high-achieving individuals' failure to internalize accomplishments. Despite the wide study of IP, the role of the context beyond the individual is largely ignored, although recently, calls have been made for such scrutiny. In this study perceived organizational support (POS) is included as a contextual factor.Design/methodology/approachUsing a large and representative sample (n = 1,042) of New Zealand employees, the study seeks to investigate IP using the standard Clance IP scale test, and the frequency of IP is calculated. Next, it assesses the links between IP and mental health, specifically job anxiety and job depression, are explored. POS is included as a moderator.FindingsOverall, the study finds solid evidence of the psychometric properties of the scale, with the following frequencies across categories: few IP issues (14.0%), moderate IP issues (37.3%), frequent IP issues (39.7%) and intense IP issues (8.9%). Regression analysis shows that IP is positively related to job anxiety and job depression. The interactions between POS and IP support the hypothesized buffering effect. Additional tests suggest that IP is a widespread workplace phenomenon irrespective of individual or organization demographics.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of this study highlight the common nature of IP in the workplace and its role in mental health. However, POS clearly can play a key role in its management in the workplace.Originality/valueThe IP literature has a limited focus on workplaces, and mental health, including POS as a moderator, and provides additional value.

This commentary describes the relationship between impostor phenomenon and professional identity formation and draws attention to validation theory in supporting student development. Student-level challenges are highlighted, and roles faculty members could play in actively encouraging professional identity formation and helping overcome impostor feelings are discussed.

Background Imposter Phenomenon (IP) is a subjective feeling of intellectual fraudulence and self-doubt experienced by individuals in goal-orientated high-achieving professions. The impact of IP within healthcare has been associated with individual physical and mental health and concerns around training, career progression and DEI at an institutional level. To effectively address IP in healthcare, this scoping review aims to explore educational interventions designed to empower high-achieving individuals with the tools needed to confront and overcome IP. Methods The scoping review adhered to a predetermined protocol informed by the JBI methodology and PRISMA-ScR guidelines in order to identify educational interventions addressing IP in high-achieving industries. Articles were searched across multiple databases, including MEDLINE (Ovid), PsychINFO, SCOPUS, and Web of Science, alongside grey literature, without imposing any time constraints. A systematic approach including a thematic analysis allowed for a nuanced exploration and interpretation of the identified educational interventions and their impact on addressing IP. Results Seventeen articles were incorporated into the review, with the majority originating from the USA and majority being published since 2020. Ten studies targeted healthcare professionals, undergraduate and postgraduate healthcare students. Majority of studies aimed at addressing IP, featured a larger number of female participants than males. Workshops with self-reflection and group-guided exercises to overcome IP were the most popular educational interventions. Coaching and structured supervision were also suggested. Across all papers, three themes emerged for coping strategies: individual, peer-to-peer, and institutional. Conclusions This scoping review suggests how group and individual interventions such as workshops, small group discussions and coaching can be used to overcome IP in healthcare. Institutional changes like diversity promotion, supervisor education, and support networks are crucial in addressing IP. Further long term and speciality specific assessments are needed to measure impact. Overall, the review highlights how educational awareness and a variety of strategies can be implemented to create a supportive environment for professionals dealing with IP, promoting their well-being and success.

This paper examines the effect the impostor phenomenon (IP) on short-term emotions (shame) and performance (creativity and organizational citizenship behavior- OCB) at work, and on career outcomes. Previous research shows direct detrimental effects of IP on some short-term performance measures, but effects on creativity and OCB remain under-researched, and no work has investigated any career effects. Through an experimental approach (Studies 1 and 3) and an online vignette (Study 2) using working populations, we find that IP is expressed as shame in response to simulated and recalled real work events. Shame mediates the negative effect of IP on creativity, and its positive effect on OCB, and mechanistic organizational structure exacerbates the negative shame-creativity relationship. Furthermore, Study 4 uses a survey design to reveal that IP relates negatively to external employability and career success. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, we suggest that IP and shame deplete resources such that impostors suffer reduced ability to perform well at work in the short-term, with negative consequences for career success.