{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,1]],"date-time":"2026-08-01T09:14:30Z","timestamp":1785575670356,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,21]],"date-time":"2025-07-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1753056000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Behavioral Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This research aims to establish the prevalence of imposter syndrome among Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) undergraduate students while assessing its association with depression symptoms and anxiety symptoms. A cross-sectional design recruited 504 undergraduate students selected through stratified random sampling. Data collection employed the Clance Imposter Phenomenon Scale (CIPS), the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7). Data analysis included Pearson\u2019s correlation, chi-square tests, and logistic regression analyses. In total, 56% of participants had imposter syndrome. The CIPS scores showed a moderate relationship with depression (r = 0.486, p &lt; 0.001) and anxiety (r = 0.472, p &lt; 0.001). Students who experienced imposter syndrome showed a higher probability of developing depressive symptoms (\u03c72 = 45.63, p &lt; 0.001, OR = 3.49) and anxiety symptoms (\u03c72 = 32.96, p &lt; 0.001, OR = 2.86). The logistic regression analysis showed that depression (B = 0.096, p &lt; 0.001) and anxiety (B = 0.075, p = 0.003) acted as significant predictors for imposter syndrome. This study reveals a strong link between imposterism, depression, and anxiety among students. This highlights the need for university counseling programs to address imposter feelings and the role of clinical psychology in managing this phenomenon in academic and clinical settings.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/bs15070986","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,21]],"date-time":"2025-07-21T11:44:05Z","timestamp":1753098245000},"page":"986","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["The Prevalence of Imposter Syndrome and Its Association with Psychological Distress: A Cross-Sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Abdullah","family":"Al Lawati","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 50, Muscat 123, Oman"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-8764-2569","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Azzan","family":"Al-Wahshi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 50, Muscat 123, Oman"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tamadhir","family":"Al-Mahrouqi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, P.O. Box 50, Muscat 123, Oman"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Younis","family":"Al-Mufargi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General Surgery, Medical City Hospital for Military and Security Services, P.O. Box 721, Muscat 111, Oman"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Salman","family":"Al Shukaily","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 50, Muscat 123, Oman"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hamood","family":"Al Aufi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 50, Muscat 123, Oman"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ismail","family":"Al-Shehhi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 50, Muscat 123, Oman"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alazhar","family":"Al Azri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Al-Khoudh 123, P.O. Box 50, Muscat 123, Oman"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6705-8459","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hamed","family":"Al-Sinawi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, P.O. Box 50, Muscat 123, Oman"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e26683","DOI":"10.2196\/26683","article-title":"Efficacy of a six-week-long therapist-guided online therapy versus self-help internet-based therapy for COVID-19-induced anxiety and depression: Open-label, pragmatic, randomized controlled trial","volume":"8","author":"McCall","year":"2021","journal-title":"JMIR Mental Health"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"59","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ajp.2013.10.014","article-title":"Prevalence of depressive symptoms as elicited by Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) among medical trainees in Oman","volume":"8","author":"Dorvlo","year":"2014","journal-title":"Asian Journal of Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"32","DOI":"10.1186\/s12991-017-0155-1","article-title":"An Arabic translation, reliability, and validation of Patient Health Questionnaire in a Saudi sample","volume":"16","author":"AlHadi","year":"2017","journal-title":"Annals of General Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"18","DOI":"10.1186\/s43045-025-00512-2","article-title":"Impostor phenomenon: A narrative review of manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment","volume":"32","author":"Waladwadi","year":"2025","journal-title":"Middle East Current Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_5","first-page":"e45752","article-title":"Investigating impostorism among undergraduate medical students at Sultan Qaboos University: A questionnaire-based study","volume":"15","author":"Chan","year":"2023","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"189","DOI":"10.15537\/smj.2020.2.24841","article-title":"Burnout and imposter syndrome among Saudi young adults: The strings in the puppet show of psychological morbidity","volume":"41","author":"Alrayyes","year":"2020","journal-title":"Saudi Medical Journal"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1252","DOI":"10.1007\/s11606-019-05364-1","article-title":"Prevalence, predictors, and treatment of impostor syndrome: A systematic review","volume":"35","author":"Bravata","year":"2020","journal-title":"Journal of General Internal Medicine"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chen, S., and Son, L. 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