This cross-sectional study was conducted from June to August 2025 among sports science undergraduates at State University of Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, following the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines. Ethical clearance was granted by the Institutional Biomedical Research Ethics Committee of Hasanuddin University (PROTOKOL-UH25010017), procedures followed the 2013 Declaration of Helsinki, and written informed consent was obtained from every participant. NOTE: This study was retrospectively registered. The study was conducted from June 2025 to August 2025 following the STROBE guidelines and received ethical clearance from the Institutional Biomedical Research Ethics Committee of Hasanuddin University prior to study initiation. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants. No outcome measures, study design, or statistical analysis plan were modified following data collection.
BACKGROUND: Imposter syndrome, characterized by a persistent sense of intellectual phoniness and pervasive fear of exposure despite objective evidence of competence, is well documented among undergraduate populations yet remains understudied among non-medical Southeast Asian students, particularly within sports science and related health disciplines. STUDY DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: This cross-sectional study was conducted from June to August 2025 among sports science undergraduates at State University of Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, following the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines. Ethical clearance was granted by the Institutional Biomedical Research Ethics Committee of Hasanuddin University (PROTOKOL-UH25010017), and all procedures were conducted in accordance with the 2013 Declaration of Helsinki. Written informed consent was obtained from every participant, who could withdraw at any time without consequence, and no identifying information was disclosed. The master dataset comprised 438 respondents. Fifteen had genuine missing cumulative GPA values. Analyses not involving GPA, including descriptive, reliability, non-GPA correlation, and non-GPA group-comparison analyses, used N = 438. The GPA correlation, GPA-category comparison, simultaneous ordinary least squares regression, Huber M-estimation, median quantile regression, and hierarchical regression models used the same 423 complete cases under listwise deletion. Eligible students in semesters 3 and 4 were approached during scheduled in-person classes using a mixed paper and online administration procedure, rather than the single supervised classroom administration originally registered with ClinicalTrials.gov. Students could complete a paper-based questionnaire immediately during the class break or within 48 hours; alternatively, they could complete an equivalent online version distributed via the official student communication platform. Two reminder messages were sent at 7-day intervals to non-respondents. No monetary or academic incentives were provided for participation. Data were collected using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale, and the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS). The analyses included Spearman's rank correlations, Mann-Whitney U tests, simultaneous ordinary least squares regression, hierarchical multiple linear regression, Huber M-estimation, and median quantile regression at τ = 0.50. The analyses identified adjusted associations rather than causal or predictive relationships, consistent with the cross-sectional design. MEASURES AND INSTRUMENTS: Self-esteem, anxiety, and imposter syndrome were assessed using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale, and the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS), respectively. The RSES consists of 10 items scored on a four-point Likert scale, with total scores ranging from 10 to 40 and categorized as low (10-20), moderate (21-30), or high (31-40) self-esteem. The GAD-7 consists of seven items scored from 0 to 3, with total scores ranging from 0 to 21 and categorized as minimal (0-4), mild (5-9), moderate (10-14), or severe (≥15) anxiety. The CIPS consists of 20 items scored on a five-point Likert scale, with total scores ranging from 20 to 100 and categorized as none or minimal (≤40), moderate (41-60), frequent (61-80), or intense (\>80) imposter syndrome. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 25.0 and R version 4.6.1. Internal consistency was assessed with Cronbach's alpha. Because most continuous variables were non-normally distributed, descriptive data used medians and interquartile ranges. Spearman's rank correlations and Mann-Whitney U tests with rank-biserial correlations were applied for bivariate analyses. GPA-related analyses used 423 complete cases after listwise deletion of 15 observations with missing GPA values. Simultaneous ordinary least-squares regression, hierarchical regression, Huber M-estimation, and median quantile regression were conducted. For the primary OLS regression coefficients, estimates used 5,000 bias-corrected and accelerated (BCa) bootstrap resamples (seed = 123). For Huber M-estimation, P-values were derived from the asymptotic normal approximation to robust test statistics. For median quantile regression (τ = 0.50), P-values were calculated using XY-bootstrap standard errors from 5,000 resamples (seed = 123). Model diagnostics assessed residual normality, homoscedasticity, multicollinearity, residual independence, and influential observations. Statistical significance was set at p \< 0.05. Adequacy of the analytic sample was benchmarked using Green's sample-size heuristic (N ≥ 50 + 8k), requiring 130 for ten predictors; the complete-case sample (N = 423) exceeded this benchmark.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
438
Participants completed a structured battery of validated self-report questionnaires via a mixed paper-based (completed in class or within 48 hours) and online administration, not a single supervised classroom sitting as planned. The CIPS evaluated cognitive and affective features of impostorism; the RSES measured global self-esteem; and the Indonesian-adapted GAD-7 assessed anxiety symptom severity over the preceding two weeks. Additional self-reported items captured behavioral characteristics (nightly sleep duration and daily social media usage) alongside demographic and structural information (sex, age, cumulative GPA, scholarship status, residential arrangement, and organizational participation). No therapeutic, pharmacological, behavioral, or educational intervention was administered. Data collection was observational and cross-sectional in nature, with no manipulation of variables, experimental conditions, or intervention assignment.
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan KM. 10, Tamalanrea Makassar 90245, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
Association Between Self-Esteem and Imposter Syndrome
Spearman rank-order correlation coefficient (rho) evaluating the relationship between total global self-esteem scores assessed via the 10-item RSES (score range: 10-40, where higher scores indicate higher self-esteem) and total Imposter Syndrome severity scores measured using the 20-item CIPS (score range: 20-100, where higher scores denote greater impostorism severity) among sports science undergraduates. A negative correlation indicates higher self-esteem is associated with lower Imposter Syndrome severity.
Time frame: Single time point baseline assessment (June to August 2025)
Association Between Anxiety Symptoms and Imposter Syndrome
Spearman rank-order correlation coefficient (rho) evaluating the relationship between total anxiety symptom scores assessed via GAD-7 (score range: 0-21, where higher scores reflect higher anxiety severity) and total imposter syndrome severity scores (CIPS; score range: 20-100). A positive correlation indicates higher anxiety symptomatology is associated with greater imposter syndrome severity.
Time frame: Single time point baseline assessment (June to August 2025)
Psychological Correlates of Imposter Syndrome
Standardized regression coefficients (β) and unstandardized coefficients (B) derived from simultaneous-entry multiple linear regression, robust regression (Huber M-estimation), median quantile regression, and hierarchical regression models predicting total CIPS scores. Evaluated domain-specific predictors include psychological factors (RSES self-esteem, GAD-7 anxiety), behavioral habits (nightly sleep duration in hours, daily social media usage in hours), and structural/demographic covariates (biological sex, cumulative GPA, age, scholarship status, residential status, and organizational participation). Total explained variance (R², adjusted R²) and domain-specific incremental variance contributions (ΔR²) are reported.
Time frame: Single time point baseline assessment (June to August 2025)
Demographic and Structural Differences in Imposter Syndrome Scores
Between-group comparisons of total CIPS scores across categorical demographic and structural subgroups (biological sex \[male vs. female\], scholarship status \[recipient vs. non-recipient\], residential arrangement \[living with family vs. dormitory\], and organizational participation \[active vs. non-active\]) evaluated using Mann-Whitney U tests, with effect sizes quantified using rank-biserial correlations (r rb). Higher rank scores indicate higher levels of reported imposter syndrome within specific subgroups.
Time frame: Single time point baseline assessment (June to August 2025)
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