Using factor analysis to validate the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale in sample of science, technology, engineering and mathematics doctoral students

Abstract

This study examined the factor structure of the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS). Previous researchers identified different factor structures when analyzing the instrument. Some have concluded that it contains one factor; others identified a two-factor solution while other researchers including the developers of the survey affirm a three-factor structure. This study used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to test the factor structure of the instrument using the three models proposed by researchers in the existing literature. The CFA revealed that a one-factor model with correlated residuals was the more parsimonious model. Based on these findings it can be concluded that a single factor model best fits the data in the study.