Imposter Syndrome and (Mal)Adaptive Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies Among PhD Candidates

PhD candidates are at particularly high risk of developing imposter thoughts. Imposter syndrome can be supposed to contribute to the high prevalence of mental health problems among PhD candidates, such as stress, burnout, depression, or intense negative emotions. In addition, emotion regulation is also considered an important factor for individuals’ well being and adaptation to stressful situations. However, little is known about the strategies used by PhD candidates when coping negative emotions, especially by those experiencing imposter thoughts. An online questionnaire was distributed to a convenience sample of 241 PhD candidates. Imposter syndrome appeared to be associated with a tendency to use more maladaptive emotion regulation strategies (e.g., self-blame, catastrophizing) in the work context. A contrario, imposter thoughts were not associated with a tendency to use adaptive strategies (e.g., putting into perspective, planification). Taken together, the results of the present study indicate that a high self-focused belief among PhD candidates, namely the belief to be an imposter, is related to the overuse of emotion regulation strategies that are known to cause poor wellbeing and mental health problems. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.