Between Suffering and Success: A Comparative Study of Imposter Syndrome in Chronically Ill Students vs. Non-ill University Students

Abstract

The present study aimed to find out the relationship between chronic illnesses, psychological distress, impostor syndrome and resilience in chronically ill students. The sample of 210 university students (105 healthy and 105 chronically ill) were recruited through convenient sampling technique. The Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale, DASS-21 and brief resilience scale were used for data collection. Results were analyzed using statistical analysis (correlation, t test, regression analysis for mediation). Results revealed that there was a significantly positive relationship between imposter syndrome and psychological distress with an indication that higher the imposter feelings, the higher the psychological distress reported by students. Results also revealed a negative correlation has been seen between imposter syndrome and resilience where the more students feel being imposters, the less resilient they will be. Results showed that the imposter syndrome was reportedly high in chronically ill students than in healthy students. Equally, the psychological distress was greater among the chronically-ill students in comparison to their healthy counterparts. Findings revealed that resilience is not a significant mediator of the association between imposter syndrome and psychological distress among university students. The study highlights the need for targeted mental health interventions to reduce impostor syndrome and psychological distress, especially in chronically ill students. It also suggests that resilience alone may be insufficient, pointing to the importance of exploring additional psychological supports.