Impostor phenomenon among Saudi university students: associations with maladaptive perfectionism, self-efficacy, and psychological well-being.

BACKGROUND

The impostor phenomenon (IP) is characterized by persistent self-doubt and fears of being exposed as intellectually inadequate despite evidence of competence. Although IP has received increasing international attention, comparatively few studies have simultaneously examined its associations with maladaptive perfectionism, self-efficacy, belonging, and wellbeing within Middle Eastern university contexts. This study examined the associations among IP, maladaptive perfectionism, self-efficacy, happiness, sense of belonging, and perceived academic competition among university students in Saudi Arabia.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 505 undergraduate students at Taibah University, Saudi Arabia. Participants completed validated measures assessing IP, self-efficacy, maladaptive perfectionism, happiness, belonging, and perceived academic competition. Inferential statistics and bootstrapped indirect association analyses using Hayes' PROCESS Model 4 were conducted.

RESULTS

IP demonstrated a moderate positive association with maladaptive perfectionism (r = 0.56, p < 0.01) and weak negative associations with self-efficacy (r = -0.19, p < 0.01) and happiness (r = -0.20, p < 0.01). Self-efficacy showed moderate positive associations with happiness (r = 0.53, p < 0.01) and sense of belonging (r = 0.40, p < 0.01). Indirect association analyses identified statistically significant patterns of association among maladaptive perfectionism, IP, and self-efficacy. Students from administrative and humanities colleges reported higher IP scores than students from health and scientific colleges.

CONCLUSION

IP among Saudi university students was associated with greater maladaptive perfectionism and lower self-efficacy, whereas self-efficacy demonstrated stronger positive associations with happiness and belonging. The findings highlight the importance of cognitive and emotional factors associated with students' psychological experiences in higher education settings. Given the cross-sectional design, all findings should be interpreted cautiously, and longitudinal studies are needed to better understand these relationships over time.