SynthesisBMC psychology2025
Global prevalence of imposter syndrome in health service providers: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC psychology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed.
- Response to: Matters Arising from Salari et al. (2025): Why it is (currently) impossible to estimate accurate prevalence rates of the Impostor Phenomenon.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Severity of impostor phenomenon syndrome among Iranian nursing and allied health students.BMC nursing · 2026Article
- Transition shock, emotion regulation and imposter phenomenon among nursing interns: a cross-sectional study.BMC nursing · 2026Article
- Prevalence of the imposter phenomenon among chiropractors in South Africa: a cross-sectional survey.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2026Article
- Matters arising from Salari et al. (2025): Why it is (currently) impossible to estimate accurate prevalence rates of the Impostor Phenomenon.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Time to Address Eating Disorder Risk Among Medical Students.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Imposter syndrome as mediator and moderator between personality and mental health in Malaysian students.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Quiet Doubts: Exploring the Relationship between Introversion, Demographic Characteristics, and Imposter Phenomenon among Canadian Medical Students, Residents and Practicing Physicians.Perspectives on medical education · 2026Article
- Exploring the experiences of imposter phenomenon among Chinese ICU nurses: a qualitative study.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Impostor Syndrome: A Back Seat Driver.Academic psychiatry : the journal of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training and the Association for Academic Psychiatry · 2025Article
- Gender-based disparities in self-reported procedural experience: a cross-sectional survey of medical students in Poland.Postepy w kardiologii interwencyjnej = Advances in interventional cardiology · 2025Article
- Imposter Syndrome in Dentistry: Prevalence, Contributing Factors, and Educational Implications: A Narrative Review.Cureus · 2025Review
- Coping Mechanisms and Resilience Strategies for Addressing Impostor Phenomenon in Healthcare Professionals.Cureus · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundImposterism, also known as imposter syndrome or imposter phenomenon, is an emerging phenomenon that has attracted much attention in recent years. Given that this phenomenon is common among high-achieving individuals and its identification often overlaps with symptoms of anxiety, depression, stress, and burnout, the aim of this study is to determine the global prevalence of imposter syndrome and its associated factors.
methodsFor this study, PubMed, Embase, ScienceDirect Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases were systematically searched, and all relevant studies were transferred to EndNote (v.8) and reviewed. Data analysis was performed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (v.2) software; a random effects model was adopted for analysis, and the I
resultsIn a review of 30 studies with a sample size of 11,483 people, the prevalence of imposter syndrome was 62% (95% CI: 52.6-70.6) based on meta-analysis and the random effects method. In examining the factors affecting the heterogeneity of studies and the effect of sample size on this heterogeneity, it was found that with increasing sample size, the prevalence of imposter syndrome decreases (p < 0.05), and with increasing years of studies, the prevalence of imposter syndrome increases (p < 0.05). Additionally, in this study, self-esteem, anxiety, depression, stress, and burnout were identified as the most important factors associated with imposter syndrome.
conclusionGiven the relatively high prevalence of imposter syndrome, which is a serious psychological challenge and can negatively affect the mental health and performance of individuals, the results of this study provide useful information for designing appropriate policies and interventions to develop effective pertinent solutions.
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