Quantitative Analysis Identifies Self-Compassion as a Tool to Mitigate Impostor Phenomenon in Student Physical...

Graduate health professions students have experienced increased stress, anxiety, depression, and impostor phenomenon with higher rates of burnout and poorer career satisfaction. Evidence suggests an increasing prevalence of impostor phenomenon in medical students, dental students, and nursing students, but there is little to no research on the prevalence of impostor phenomenon in student physical therapists. The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify prevalence and severity of impostor phenomenon in student physical therapists and assess whether a relationship exists between impostor phenomenon and self-compassion in student physical therapists. Thirty-nine student physical therapists completed an online survey assessing impostor phenomenon and self-compassion scores using the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale and the Self-Compassion Scale. Descriptive and non-parametric inferential statistics were used for data analysis. Results indicated 100% of student physical therapists experienced moderate to intense levels of impostor phenomenon. A scatter plot and Spearman rank test indicated a strong negative correlation between impostor phenomenon severity and self-compassion. Results of this study are the first indicating student physical therapists experience higher prevalence and severity of impostor phenomenon than peer graduate health profession students. Additionally, results of this study indicate an inverse relationship exists between impostor phenomenon severity scores and self-compassion scores. Future studies should expand on this work to assess the impact of self-compassion training to reduce the prevalence and severity of impostor phenomenon in student physical therapists.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-025-02386-9.