Individual differences in the impostor phenomenon and its relevance in higher education in terms of burnout, generalized anxiety, and fear of failure.

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 (M age = 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. • Impostor phenomenon (IP) is more common than previously thought. • Dark personality traits lead to individual differences in IP. • Manipulation and self-sabotage as strategies to obtain social integration. • Higher levels of IP determine elevated levels of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion, anxiety, and fear of failing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]