Measuring impostor phenomenon in healthcare simulation educators: a validation of the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale and Leary Impostorism Scale

Abstract

Background Impostor phenomenon is a term used to describe feelings of intellectual and professional fraudulence. The Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale and the Leary Impostorism Scale are two self-report measures used to determine whether an individual experiences impostor phenomenon. This study examined the psychometric properties of both measures in healthcare simulation educators. Methods The study sample comprised 148 educators, 114 (77%) females, 34 (23%) males, who completed an online version of each instrument. Exploratory factor analysis was used to examine the factor structure of the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale and the Leary Impostorism Scale. Results Exploratory factor analysis revealed that for both instruments a one-factor solution best fit the data, suggesting all items in both measures fit onto a single theoretical construct. Both instruments demonstrated high internal reliability, with the Cronbach’s alpha for the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale being α = .96 and the Leary Impostorism Scale α = .95. Conclusions This study suggests that impostor phenomenon as measured by the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale and the Leary Impostorism Scale is a unidimensional construct among healthcare simulation educators. With a growing interest in impostor phenomenon, the present findings will assist researchers to evaluate the phenomenon in healthcare settings.

Is the Measure Good Enough? Measurement Invariance and Validity of the Clance Imposter Phenomenon Scale in a University Population

“…Our single-factor model was further strengthened by our large sample size that we split into two samples, allowing for cross-validation of the model. This finding supports more recent factor analyses of the CIPS (Freeman et al, 2022; Jöstl et al, 2015; Simon & Choi, 2018). The conceptual implications of this finding may be that constructs such as Fake, Discount, and Luck found in previous factor analyses are all driven by a larger global construct (IP); and that these elements may be different ways of describing the same general phenomenon.…”

“…While they found good model fit across one, two, and three factor models, they determined that, given high correlations between factors, a single factor model was the best explanation of the factor structure of the CIPS. The most recent validity study of the CIPS also supports a single factor solution (Freeman et al, 2022). This study also examined convergent validity of the CIPS with the Leary Imposterism Scale (LIS).…”

Imposter phenomenon in physical therapists: A cross‐sectional observational study

“…The 20‐item Clance Imposter Phenomenon Scale was used to assess the degree of IP 1 . It is the most widely used instrument known for its good reliability and validity, and ability to distinguish from self‐esteem, social anxiety, and self‐monitoring 11–13 . The scale uses a 5‐point Likert scale for each question with a total score ranging from 20 to 100.…”

“… 1 It is the most widely used instrument known for its good reliability and validity, and ability to distinguish from self‐esteem, social anxiety, and self‐monitoring. 11 , 12 , 13 The scale uses a 5‐point Likert scale for each question with a total score ranging from 20 to 100. A score below or equal to 40 is considered low IP, 41–60 is moderate, 61–80 is frequent, and greater than 80 is intense IP.…”

Fenômeno do impostor em universitários: Contribuições de variáveis demográficas e da personalidade

“…O Fenômeno do Impostor, termo inicialmente cunhado por Clance e Imes (1978), é um constructo psicológico que descreve a experiência de sentir-se como uma fraude ou impostor, apesar de evidências de competência e realizações pessoais (Chakraverty, 2022;Freeman et al, 2022;Vergauwe et al, 2015).…”