Impostor phenomenon beyond self-esteem, anxiety, and perfectionism: Factor structure and correlates

Impostor feelings refer to persistent self-doubt and the fear of being exposed as intellectually inadequate despite objective evidence of competence, and are associated with several negative psychological outcomes. The Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS) is widely used to assess impostor feelings, yet its latent structure remains debated. The purpose of this study was to clarify the dimensionality of the CIPS and validate it in a Hungarian adult population. Specifically, the study aimed to determine the most appropriate factor structure of the scale and to evaluate its reliability, convergent validity, and predictive associations with related psychological constructs. A large Hungarian adult sample ( N = 10,367) completed the CIPS alongside self-report measures of self-esteem, anxiety, and perfectionism. Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that a unidimensional structure provided the best model fit, with excellent internal consistency. Convergent validity was confirmed through associations with lower self-esteem, higher anxiety, and socially prescribed perfectionism. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that age, gender, self-esteem, anxiety, and socially prescribed perfectionism uniquely predicted impostor feelings, explaining 62% of the variance. These findings clarify the dimensionality of the CIPS, offer population-level validation in Hungarian adults, and support the use of the CIPS as a unidimensional tool for screening and research applications. • Multiple analyses confirm impostor phenomenon as a unidimensional construct. • The 19-item Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale has strong psychometric properties. • Impostor phenomenon reflects a distinct maladaptive cognitive–affective schema. • Impostorism is linked to low self-esteem, anxiety, and socially prescribed perfectionism.