The Contributions of Anxiety and Self-Esteem to Imposter Syndrome Among Sports Science Undergraduates in Indonesia: A Cross-Sectional Survey

BACKGROUND:

Imposter syndrome, characterized by a persistent sense of intellectual phoniness and pervasive fear of exposure despite objective evidence of competence, is well documented among undergraduate populations yet remains understudied among non-medical Southeast Asian students, particularly within sports science and related health disciplines.

STUDY DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS:

This cross-sectional study was conducted from June to August 2025 among sports science undergraduates at State University of Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, following the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines. Ethical clearance was granted by the Institutional Biomedical Research Ethics Committee of Hasanuddin University (PROTOKOL-UH25010017), and all procedures were conducted in accordance with the 2013 Declaration of Helsinki. Written informed consent was obtained from every participant, who could withdraw at any time without consequence, and no identifying information was disclosed. The master dataset comprised 438 respondents. Fifteen had genuine missing cumulative GPA values. Analyses not involving GPA, including descriptive, reliability, non-GPA correlation, and non-GPA group-comparison analyses, used N = 438. The GPA correlation, GPA-category comparison, simultaneous ordinary least squares regression, Huber M-estimation, median quantile regression, and hierarchical regression models used the same 423 complete cases under listwise deletion. Eligible students in semesters 3 and 4 were approached during scheduled in-person classes using a mixed paper and online administration procedure, rather than the single supervised classroom administration originally registered with ClinicalTrials.gov. Students could complete a paper-based questionnaire immediately during the class break or within 48 hours; alternatively, they could complete an equivalent online version distributed via the official student communication platform. Two reminder messages were sent at 7-day intervals to non-respondents. No monetary or academic incentives were provided for participation. Data were collected using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale, and the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS). The analyses included Spearman's rank correlations, Mann-Whitney U tests, simultaneous ordinary least squares regression, hierarchical multiple linear regression, Huber M-estimation, and median quantile regression at τ = 0.50. The analyses identified adjusted associations rather than causal or predictive relationships, consistent with the cross-sectional design.

MEASURES AND INSTRUMENTS: