Influence of perceived impostorism on self-esteem and anxiety among University Nursing Students: Recommendations to implement mentorship program

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background: The imposter phenomenon (IP) involves feelings of intellectual fraudulence and phoniness in challenging new roles. IP feelings are associated with low self-esteem and anxiety in nursing students, especially during transition or early stages of nursing training. This research aims to find out the prevalence of IP and its relation with self-esteem and anxiety among nursing undergraduates. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional survey randomly selected nursing students from the six established nursing institutions in Uttarakhand state. Three hundred eight (n = 308) participants completed the survey questionnaires, which included a structured socio-demographic sheet, the Clance Imposter Phenomenon Scale (CIPS), the Generalized Anxiety Scale-7 (GAS-7), and the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSES). Appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics were used to generate the results. Results: The mean age of the students was 20.93 (SD = 1.09) years. The mean CIPS score was 58.57 (SD = 10.69). Frequent to intense feelings of impostorism were reported by 43.4%, and 51.3% reported at least moderate IP feelings. Further, second-year students than third year, on average, significantly reported higher scores on imposter phenomenon (P < 0.001), anxiety (P = 0.006), and lower scores on self-esteem (P = 0.018). As predicted, CIPS scores correlated positively with GAS-7 (r = -.340, P < 0.01) and negatively with RSES (r = -.307, P < 0.01). A multiple regression model predicting the imposter phenomenon with self-esteem demonstrated a negative main effect of self-esteem (P < 0.001) and significant two-way interaction. Conclusions: A higher proportion of the students reported feelings of imposter phenomenon. Low self-esteem was reported as a strong predictor of IP. Institutional strategies such as mentorship, supervised education, and early screening of psychological issues could be preventive and promotive strategies. Future research is recommended to identify the cause of poor IP in students.