(2025). Impostor Phenomenon among Egyptian University Students and its Relationship with Academic Performance and Burnout. The Egyptian Journal of Hospital Medicine, 100(1), 2638-2644. doi: 10.21608/ejhm.2025.436784
. "Impostor Phenomenon among Egyptian University Students and its Relationship with Academic Performance and Burnout". The Egyptian Journal of Hospital Medicine, 100, 1, 2025, 2638-2644. doi: 10.21608/ejhm.2025.436784
(2025). 'Impostor Phenomenon among Egyptian University Students and its Relationship with Academic Performance and Burnout', The Egyptian Journal of Hospital Medicine, 100(1), pp. 2638-2644. doi: 10.21608/ejhm.2025.436784
Impostor Phenomenon among Egyptian University Students and its Relationship with Academic Performance and Burnout. The Egyptian Journal of Hospital Medicine, 2025; 100(1): 2638-2644. doi: 10.21608/ejhm.2025.436784
Impostor Phenomenon among Egyptian University Students and its Relationship with Academic Performance and Burnout
Background: Imposter phenomenon (IP), marked by persistent feelings of inadequacy despite demonstrated competence, is prevalent in competitive academic environments, affecting a substantial number of university students. Although not a clinical diagnosis, IP is associated with detrimental outcomes such as anxiety, self-doubt, and impaired academic performance. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of the IP among Egyptian university students, explore the relationship between the IP, burnout, and academic performance and to determine the factors affecting the IP in Egyptian university students. Subjects and methods: This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among Egyptian university students from January 15 to February 15, 2025. A web-based questionnaire was distributed among students’ forums and groups; it included demographic questions, Arabic-translated versions of the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS) and Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS). Results: There was a high prevalence of impostor feelings among 400 Egyptian university students with 116 (29%) experiencing moderate impostor feelings, 186 (46.5%) and 79 (19.8%) had frequent and intense impostor feelings respectively. 154 (38.5%) and 156 (39%) had emotional exhaustion and cynicism respectively and 137 (34.3%) had low academic efficacy. The results reported a significance association between IP and male sex, residence with colleagues, last academic years and healthcare students (p =0.02), these factors were found to be positively affecting IP (p ˂0.05). Burnout domains positively correlate to impostor feelings and burnout scores (B = 0.27, p <0.001), while GPA found to have a negative correlate with IP (B = - 4.19, p <0.045) (r = -0.1227). Conclusion: Our study demonstrated the high prevalence of IP among Egyptian university students and the association of this phenomenon with emotional exhaustion, cynicism, lower academic efficacy, decrease in GPA and some sociodemographic factors emphasizing the need for interventions to promote students’ wellbeing and limit the negative effects of IP.
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