{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,24]],"date-time":"2026-07-24T06:49:10Z","timestamp":1784875750524,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":53,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,21]],"date-time":"2026-01-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1768953600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Children"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Objectives: The Impostor Phenomenon (IP), defined as persistent self-doubt despite objective success, has been extensively researched in adults. In contrast, empirical research on children and adolescents remains limited. Methods: The present study examines the prevalence, correlates, and potential risk as well as protective factors of the IP in a sample of 286 participants (56.6% female, 42.7% male, and 0.7% diverse) aged 8\u201318 years (M = 11.75, SD = 2.50). Participants were recruited from four distinct German subsamples between 2022 and 2024, including a clinically vulnerable group. The study employed a cross-sectional survey design administered to children and adolescents. Results: The results of the study indicate the presence of the IP as early as primary school age, with increasing intensity during adolescence. The study identified robust correlations between the IP and neuroticism, extraversion, conscientiousness, and self-esteem. In the present study, children and adolescents exhibiting depressive\u2013anxious symptomatology demonstrated significantly elevated impostor scores in comparison to those manifesting other disorders. Furthermore, the study yielded negative associations between impostorism and various personal resources (e.g., optimism, self-efficacy) and family resources (e.g., parental support, authoritative parenting style). Conclusions: The present findings underline the importance of early intervention in addressing impostor feelings among younger age groups. In conclusion, the present findings contribute to our understanding of the IP etiology and underscore the importance of understanding the IP during formative years to inform prevention and intervention strategies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/children13010149","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,21]],"date-time":"2026-01-21T08:48:08Z","timestamp":1768985288000},"page":"149","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Do They Already Feel Like Frauds? Exploring the Impostor Phenomenon in Children and Adolescents"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-0474-9196","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mona","family":"Leonhardt","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Theodor-W.-Adorno-Platz 6, Postfach 64 PEG, 60629 Frankfurt am Main, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jane De","family":"Vries","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Theodor-W.-Adorno-Platz 6, Postfach 64 PEG, 60629 Frankfurt am Main, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sonja","family":"Etzler","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Theodor-W.-Adorno-Platz 6, Postfach 64 PEG, 60629 Frankfurt am Main, Germany"},{"name":"Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Medical Center, University Freiburg, Hauptstr. 8, 79102 Freiburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sarah","family":"Peetz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Theodor-W.-Adorno-Platz 6, Postfach 64 PEG, 60629 Frankfurt am Main, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sonja","family":"Rohrmann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Theodor-W.-Adorno-Platz 6, Postfach 64 PEG, 60629 Frankfurt am Main, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"241","DOI":"10.1037\/h0086006","article-title":"The imposter phenomenon in high achieving women: Dynamics and therapeutic intervention","volume":"15","author":"Clance","year":"1978","journal-title":"Psychother. 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