| dc.description.abstract | Imposter syndrome, in which high-achieving individuals have persistent self-doubt and fear of being exposed as a fraud or impostor despite objective successes, can be prevalent, especially among students at elite institutions. Imposter syndrome disproportionately affects ethnic minorities, economically disadvantaged students, first-generation students, and women in certain academic programs. It is associated with mental health conditions including chronic stress, anxiety, depression, and drug abuse. Imposter syndrome can hinder academic success and can cause people to turn down opportunities for advancement because they think they are not good enough. This project evaluated imposter syndrome at the undergraduate level at Vanderbilt University and examined how campus culture contributes to imposter feelings and the degree to which the University’s efforts at intervening and providing resources for students undergoing these feelings are effective.
Methods: My research with a literature review on imposter syndrome. I used qualitative interviews with students, professors, and career counselors to gauge their experience with and opinion on imposter syndrome. I supplemented this information with Vanderbilt students’ blog posts. I also attended events on campus relating to imposter syndrome. I administered a survey measuring imposter feelings to the Vanderbilt undergraduate population.
Results: On average, Vanderbilt students reported experiencing imposter feelings Sometimes. Out of the imposter feelings surveyed, students most frequently compared themselves to their peers and least frequently felt as though their successes were due to some kind of luck. They felt as though Vanderbilt was neither collaborative nor competitive, with a slight skew towards collaboration. Furthermore, students thought that Vanderbilt was less competitive compared to peer institutions. Using the Wilcoxon Scores and Kruskal Wallis Test, there were no significant differences in imposter feeling sum scores between the groups for race, gender, income, first-generation status, and transfer status (p > 0.05). Imposter syndrome sum scores differed by year of study, with sophomore-year students having the highest mean sum score (p = 0.006). Year of study remained a significant predictor of imposter feeling sum scores when the other demographic predictor variables were held fixed in a fit linear regression model (p = 0.01).
Qualitative interviews found that adjustments from high school, a “work hard, play hard” mentality among students, a belief that everyone around them was perfect, comparing themselves to other students, academic competition, and students’ social backgrounds contributed to imposter syndrome. Access to resources, feelings of belonging, a sense of community, academic collaboration, students recognizing their own path and academic strengths, and self-confidence helped lessen imposter feelings. Imposter syndrome caused students to feel fearful of taking academic risks, shy away from opportunities, and compare themselves to others. Professors could either exacerbate or mitigate imposter feelings depending on the classroom structure. | en_US |
