This qualitative study explores how academic self‐efficacy shapes the construction of academic identity among doctoral students in China. Drawing on 25 in‐depth interviews with doctoral students from diverse disciplines, the study identifies four primary sources of academic self‐efficacy: past successful experiences, academic ability mirroring, feedback from significant others, and physical and psychological states. The findings reveal that academic self‐efficacy plays a dual role in the identity formation process. On the one hand, a stable sense of academic self‐efficacy functions as a pulling force, encouraging students to internalize the role of researcher and to align psychologically with the academic community. On the other hand, insufficient self‐efficacy acts as a pushing force, leading to academic identity confusion and emotional struggles resembling impostor syndrome. These findings underscore the importance of fostering supportive yet autonomy‐enhancing academic environments. The study contributes to the understanding of academic identity development by highlighting the psychological mechanisms through which self‐efficacy influences identity construction.
Huirui Zhang (Thu,) studied this question.