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Imposter phenomenon (IP) refers to an internalized sense of intellectual deceit and persistent self-doubt, even with evidence of competence. The phenomenon significantly impacts mental health, often leading to heightened levels of stress, anxiety, and depression, as well as affecting career progression by obstructing professional development and reducing overall job satisfaction. This narrative review explores the key aspects of the impostor phenomenon, including its clinical manifestations, diagnostic tools, prevalence, and treatment approaches. By synthesizing existing literature, the review aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of these topics, offering insights into the impact of the impostor phenomenon on individuals and highlighting effective strategies for intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Imposter syndrome (IS) refers to the psychological experience of imagining that one's achievements do not originate from one's own authentic competence. Surgeons are constantly faced with life-threatening decisions and can easily feel inadequate or insecure despite their years of training and experience. Imposter syndrome can distress surgeons at all career stages and has profound psychological and professional consequences. We aimed to review imposter syndrome in surgeons. Methods: A systematic search was performed in compliance with The PRISMA checklist. Search was performed in the PubMed and ScienceDirect databases. We included articles about IS in surgeons. We excluded narrative articles, commentaries and studies involving medical students or other specialties. Citations were quality assessed by MERSQI and evidence graded (GRADE). Risk of bias was assessed among the included citations. Results: The search revealed 695 citations, from which a final list of 12 was compiled after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Participants included trainees and consultant surgeons across various surgical specialties. The following research questions were answered: Are surgeons with IS predisposed to mental or physical challenges? Do surgeons experience gender differences in IS? Can the feeling of IS be reduced? Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of imposter syndrome among surgeons. Surgeons with IS are predisposed to experience mental or physical challenges. Female surgeons experience IS more frequently than their male counterparts. Feelings of IS can decline with increasing age but also with other included methods. Risks and multiple preventative measures were explored. The key to reducing IS is to train oneself to discern fact from fiction, thereby undermining distorted thoughts that perpetuate feelings of being an imposter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Psychological phenomena such as impostor phenomenon (IP) and low work-related satisfaction increase the risk of burnout among medical professionals. The prevalence of these contributory risk factors among South Asian medical professionals has not been examined thus far. This study aims to assess the prevalence, severity and associations of IP, including self-reported satisfaction with training, in a cohort of postgraduate doctors in Sri Lanka. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted among medical and surgical postgraduate trainees enrolled at Post Graduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo. A self-administered questionnaire including the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale was used for data collection. SPSS version 26 was used for analysis, and associations were analysed using Chi Square and logistic regression. Results The response rate was 75.3% (n = 201). Of the study population, 9% (n = 18) experienced few impostor characteristics, 51.7% (n = 104) experienced moderate impostor characteristics, 38.8% (n = 78) experienced frequent impostor characteristics and 0.5% (n = 1) experienced intense impostor characteristics. The mean IP value was 55.55 (SD-12.03), in the category of moderate IP. Significant associations were seen between IP and sociodemographic factors of being single, lack of friendships outside medicine and improvement in financial status related to medical profession (p

Help-seeking behavior requires both components of metacognition—monitoring (being aware of the need for help) and control (initiating the help-seeking action). Difficulties in initiating help-seeking, therefore, can be indicative of a metacognitive breakdown, for instance, when a student believes that a gap in knowledge is something to hide. To explore the relationship between knowing that one needs help and actually seeking it, we examined the potential influences of impostorism, which refers to the feeling of being a "fraud", despite one's objective accomplishments. Participants were asked to solve math reasoning and verbal reasoning insight problems, while also being given a "help" button that could be pressed at any time in order to get the solution. Results showed that, overall, students were more likely to ask for help with math than verbal reasoning problems—help also correlated with boosted performance. There was also a slight indication that individuals who scored relatively high on impostorism were numerically less likely to seek help and waited longer to do so for the math problems. Our findings suggest that a fear of being exposed as an impostor may hinder one's help-seeking behaviors, especially in more challenging subjects, such as math. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The impostor phenomenon (IP) is the tendency to attribute success to external factors rather than to one’s abilities. It is frequent among students and has a negative impact on their wellbeing. This study aimed to assess the occurrence and mental health factors associated with IP in medical students. Methods: Cross-sectional study of University of Khartoum Medical students (December 2021–January 2022), using convenience sampling. We collected the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS), Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4: anxiety and depression), 2-item Maslach B burnout Inventory (MBI), and Single-Item Self-Esteem Scale (SISE). Data was analyzed using SPSS with correlation analyses, linear regression, and Chi-square tests. Results: Among 409 medical students, the impostor phenomenon (IP) prevalence was 52.8% (216 students), with a mean CIPS score of 63.37 ± 17.02. IP was more common in females (71.8%) and students aged 19–21 years (40.7%). Anxiety (41.6%), depression (48.7%), and burnout (39.6% emotional exhaustion; 26.9% depersonalization) were prevalent, with higher rates in females. Regression analysis showed significant predictors of IP, including burnout (+1.32 points per unit, p < 0.001), perfectionism (+0.86 points per unit, p < 0.001), parental overprotection (+2.43 points per unit, p < 0.001), and depression (+2.90 points, p = 0.024), while self-esteem showed a negative association (−4.19 points per unit, p < 0.001). Gender differences were observed in three CIPS items, with stronger female endorsements. Conclusions: IP is prevalent and linked to family dynamics, personality traits, and mental health issues. Efforts to increase awareness and facilitate IP management should be implemented.

Impostorism and knowledge-hiding behaviors negatively impact employees and organizational performance. This study examines the association between impostor leaders and knowledge hiding (evasive hiding, playing dumb, and rationalized hiding). Attachment avoidance is discussed as a mediator between impostor leaders and knowledge-hiding. For quantitative analyses, this study collected the data from 429 individuals with two time lags by sharing the survey instrument link on different organizations' randomly selected official media pages. After obtaining approval from the administrators of these pages, leaders and subordinates from these organizations were asked to participate in the study. The partial least squares structural equation modeling method is employed with Smartpls-4 software for data analyses. The findings indicate that impostor leaders promote knowledge hiding in subordinates. However, impostor leaders highly promote rationalized hiding behavior in subordinates. Attachment avoidance mediates the relationship between the impostor leader and knowledge-hiding behaviors. However, the highest mediation relationship exists between an impostor leader and playing dumb behavior in subordinates. This study strengthens the generalizability of the social exchange theory. The implications mentioned in this study are beneficial in understanding and dealing with the Impostorism and knowledge-hiding phenomena.

Objectives: Investigate the prevalence and contextualize the relationship of impostor phenomenon (IP) and ambiguity tolerance (AT) in practicing physical therapists (PTs). Methods: Online survey including demographic questions, Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS), and Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale (TAS). Descriptive analyses assessed (N = 422) demographic data, CIPS, and TAS scores. Chi-square tests determined distribution across demographic variables. Kruskal-Wallis tests assessed differences between CIPS and TAS. Age was a proxy for career stage in Pearson productmoment correlations to assess relationships between CIPS and TAS. Results: In practicing PTs (M age = 42.12, SD = 12.34), moderate (48.6%; n = 205) to frequent (26.8%; n = 113) IP feelings were prevalent, but only 31.5% (n = 133) were true impostors. Significant differences exist in clinical experience for CIPS, H(7, n = 422) = 67.82, p <.001 and TAS, H(7, n = 422) = 21.79, p= .003. Most PTs tolerate ambiguity (M = 54.93, SD = 8.19). A moderate negative correlation between age and CIPS, r = -.36, p <.001 and a small negative correlation between age and TAS, r=-.19, p <.001 exists. Age accounts for 13% of the variance per IP and 3.6% variance per TAS score. A small positive relationship exists between CIPS and TAS, r = .10, p <.05. Conclusions: Practicing PTs experience moderate to frequent IP and are ambiguity tolerant. Clinical experience is inversely related to IP and AT. Almost half of early-career PTs feel like impostors, which can lead to decreased job satisfaction, burnout, psychological distress, feelings of selfdoubt, and depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impostorism, a phenomenon whereby a person perceives that the role they occupy is beyond their capabilities and puts them at risk of exposure as a "fake," has attracted plentiful attention in the empirical literature and popular media. However, despite evidence that impostorism is frequently experienced by people in leadership positions, there has been little consideration of why this happens. In this theoretical article, we explain why formal leadership roles—roles that are characterized by elevated expectations, high visibility, and high levels of responsibility—are fertile ground for impostorism experiences. We also discuss how the associated self-conscious emotions of shame and fear, can increase leaders' risk-aversion and enhance leader role performance, yet at the same time drive emotional exhaustion, and reduce their motivation to lead. This can ultimately inhibit leaders from seeking, claiming, and thriving in leadership roles. We offer individual-, dyadic-, and organization-level contextual characteristics that can either enhance or reduce this phenomenon. We also discuss how supportive organizations can mitigate leadership impostorism. Furthermore, we highlight how women and minority-status leaders may be more vulnerable to this experience and conclude by suggesting the practical implications of the leader impostorism phenomenon for individuals and organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imposter syndrome is the fear of being discovered as an intellectual fraud. It is an internal experience of believing that you are not as competent as others perceive you to be. It lowers a person’s inner self-confidence, self-esteem that impedes work performance and this phenomenon is more prevalent among medical students. However, talking openly about it with peers, rooting positive thoughts, and building confidence help us to the appropriate reality of our situation and counter our negative self-talk.

The impostor phenomenon is a pervasive psychological experience of perceived intellectual and professional fraudulence. It is not a diagnosable condition yet observed in clinical and normal populations. Increasingly, impostorism research has expanded beyond clinical and into applied settings. However, to date, a systematic review examining the methodological quality of impostorism measures used to conduct such research has yet to be carried out. This systematic review examines trait impostor phenomenon measures and evaluates their psychometric properties against a quality assessment framework. Systematic searches were carried out on six electronic databases, seeking original empirical studies examining the conceptualization, development, or validation of self-report impostor phenomenon scales. A subsequent review of reference lists also included two full-text dissertations. Predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria were specified to select the final 18 studies in the review sample. Of the studies included, four measures of the impostor phenomenon were identified and their psychometric properties assessed against the quality appraisal tool—Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale, Harvey Impostor Scale, Perceived Fraudulence Scale, and Leary Impostor Scale. The findings often highlighted that studies did not necessarily report poor psychometric properties; rather an absence of data and stringent assessment criteria resulted in lower methodological ratings. Recommendations for future research are made to address the conceptual clarification of the construct's dimensionality, to improve future study quality and to enable better discrimination between measures.

The impostor phenomenon is a pervasive psychological experience of perceived intellectual and professional fraudulence. It is not a diagnosable condition yet observed in clinical and normal populations. Increasingly, impostorism research has expanded beyond clinical and into applied settings. However, to date, a systematic review examining the methodological quality of impostorism measures used to conduct such research has yet to be carried out. This systematic review examines trait impostor phenomenon measures and evaluates their psychometric properties against a quality assessment framework. Systematic searches were carried out on six electronic databases, seeking original empirical studies examining the conceptualization, development, or validation of self-report impostor phenomenon scales. A subsequent review of reference lists also included two full-text dissertations. Predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria were specified to select the final 18 studies in the review sample. Of the studies included, four measures of the impostor phenomenon were identified and their psychometric properties assessed against the quality appraisal tool—Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale, Harvey Impostor Scale, Perceived Fraudulence Scale, and Leary Impostor Scale. The findings often highlighted that studies did not necessarily report poor psychometric properties; rather an absence of data and stringent assessment criteria resulted in lower methodological ratings. Recommendations for future research are made to address the conceptual clarification of the construct's dimensionality, to improve future study quality and to enable better discrimination between measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Assessing resident well-being is becoming increasingly important from a programmatic standpoint. Two measures that have been used to assess this are the Clance Impostor Scale (CIS) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS). However, little is known about the relationship between the two phenomena.Objectives: To explore the prevalence and association between impostorism and burnout syndrome in a sample of internal medicine residents.Design: Anonymous, cross-sectional postal survey.Participants: Forty-eight internal medicine residents (postgraduate year [PGY] 1-3) at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry (62.3% response rate).Measurements and Main Results: Short demographic questionnaire, CIS and MBI-HSS. Impostorism and burnout syndrome were identified in 43.8% and 12.5% of residents, respectively. With the exception of a negative correlation between CIS scores and the MBI's personal accomplishment subscale (r = -.30; 95% CI -.54 to -.02), no other significant relations were identified. Foreign-trained residents were more likely to score as impostors (odds ratio [OR] 10.7; 95% CI 1.2 to 98.2) while senior residents were more likely to experience burnout syndrome (OR 16.5 95% CI 1.6 to 168.5).Conclusions: Both impostorism and burnout syndrome appear to be threats to resident well-being in our program. The lack of relationship between the two would suggest that programs and researchers wishing to address the issue of resident distress should consider using both measures. The finding that foreign-trained residents appear to be more susceptible to impostorism warrants further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]