%0 Journal Article
%T Individual differences in the impostor phenomenon and its relevance in higher education in terms of burnout, generalized anxiety, and fear of failure.
%A Dumitrescu R
%A De Caluwé E
%J Acta Psychol (Amst)
%V 249
%N 0
%D 2024 Aug 7
%M 39116465
%F 1.984
%R 10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104445
%X Few theoretical and empirical works have described impostor phenomenon (IP) and no study explored impostorism from a dark perspective. We adopted a person-centered approach to identify clusters of impostors based on scores on the IP, perfectionistic self-presentation and the Dark Triad using a sample of 306 university students (Mage = 22.82). The latent profile analysis suggested a 6-cluster solution, which was further compared in terms of psychopathology symptoms (i.e., burnout, generalized anxiety, and fear of failure) by means of (M)ANOVAs. Our results indicated that impostorism relies on a self-presentation strategy. Moreover, individuals scoring high on IP experienced enhanced levels of psychopathology symptoms. Looking at IP from a continuum perspective might improve our understanding about what makes someone suffer from impostorism.