Correlates of Imposter Syndrome Among Indonesian Sports Science Students (IMPOSTOR-2025)

The Contributions of Anxiety and Self-Esteem to Imposter Syndrome Among Sports Science Undergraduates in Indonesia: A Cross-Sectional Survey

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.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Anxiety; Self Esteem; Imposter Syndrome
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Self-Report Questionnaire Assessment

Detailed Description

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 (Actual): 438

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Indonesia
  • South Sulawesi
    • Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, 90245
      • Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan KM. 10, Tamalanrea Makassar 90245, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Sports science undergraduate students enrolled in semesters three or four at State University of Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Description

Eligible participants were active undergraduate students enrolled in semesters 3 or 4 of the sports science program at State University of Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, with adequate Bahasa Indonesia proficiency, willingness to be contacted, and provision of written informed consent; students were excluded for ineligible semester, insufficient Bahasa Indonesia proficiency, unwillingness to be contacted, incomplete survey responses, refusal of consent, treated psychiatric disorder, or documented history of substance use disorder.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Intervention / Treatment

Indonesian Sports Science Undergraduates; Sports science undergraduates (semesters 3-4) at a public state university in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, recruited from June to August 2025 (n = 438 analyzed out of 469 invited; response rate 93.4%). Participants completed a single-session, self-administered survey battery assessing psychological constructs-the CIPS, RSES, and GAD-7-alongside continuous behavioral measures (nightly sleep duration and daily social media usage) and self-reported demographic/institutional covariates (GPA, sex, age, scholarship recipiency, residential status, and organizational participation). No intervention was administered. This cross-sectional study evaluated the psychological correlates of the imposter syndrome among Indonesian sports science undergraduates, focusing specifically on the relative contributions of self-esteem and anxiety alongside related psychological, behavioral, and institutional factors.

Other: Self-Report Questionnaire Assessment; 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.; Other Names: Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS; 20 items); Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES; 10 items); Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7; 7 items)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
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.	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.	Single time point baseline assessment (June to August 2025)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
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.	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.	Single time point baseline assessment (June to August 2025)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Hasanuddin University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Agus Durman, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia; Principal Investigator: Indrawaty Suhuyanli, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): June 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Actual): August 31, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): August 31, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 21, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 21, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): July 24, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 11, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 8, 2026
• Last Verified: September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Anxiety; Sleep; Indonesia; Students; Cross-Sectional Studies; Universities; imposter syndrome
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Anxiety Disorders; imposter syndrome; Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation; Investigative Techniques; Epidemiologic Methods; Data Collection; Health Care Evaluation Mechanisms; Quality of Health Care; Public Health; Environment and Public Health; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities; Psychological Tests; Surveys and Questionnaires; Patient Health Questionnaire
• Other Study ID Numbers: DURMAN-IMPOSTOR25; PPDS-PSY-UNHAS-2025 (Registry Identifier: DURMAN-UNHAS25)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: Individual participant data (IPD) will not be shared publicly or upon request to protect participant privacy and confidentiality, as explicit consent for secondary data sharing by third parties was not obtained during the ethical approval and informed consent process. De-identified summary statistics and aggregate data are fully presented within the manuscript and supporting information.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No