Explaining the Impostor Phenomenon in university students: What is the influence of Perfectionistic Traits?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55892/jrg.v8i18.2131Keywords:
The Impostor Phenomenon, Perfectionism, University students, PsychometryAbstract
The impostor phenomenon is prevalent in academic or work contexts and is characterized as the difficulty individuals feel in internalizing achievements. In the university context, it has been associated with perfectionism because these students set high, sometimes unrealistic, standards for themselves. In this sense, this study aimed to assess the relationship between perfectionism and the impostor phenomenon in university students, as well as analyzing possible differences between the sexes in the experience of the perfectionist trait and impostorism. The study included 207 university students from the north-east of Brazil, the majority of whom were female (57.5%), from public institutions (91.3%), predominantly studying psychology (38.9%) and aged between 18 and 56. The instruments used to measure the constructs were the Short Almost Perfect Scale (SAPS) and the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS), as well as a sociodemographic questionnaire. The results, using correlation and regression analyses and Student's t-test, showed that maladaptive perfectionism predicted 37% of the impostor characteristics in the sample, and that greater perfectionist traits were observed in females. Thus, it was concluded that female perfectionists experience the impostor phenomenon more strongly. Intervention proposals are therefore needed at university level to promote student well-being and mental health.
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