Imposter syndrome—characterized by feelings of fraudulence and self-doubt about one’s academic or intellectual capabilities—is positively correlated with both anxiety and depression. According to affect regulation models, anxiety and depression may lead to greater alcohol use and related problems through drinking to cope with negative affect (i.e., coping motives). Thus, if alcohol is used to manage negative emotions such as anxiety or depression, imposter syndrome may be associated with greater alcohol use and related problems. However, no research has examined whether imposter syndrome is linked to alcohol consumption levels, coping-motivated drinking, or alcohol-related problems, or whether such relationships might be mediated by anxiety, depression, or drinking to cope with negative emotions. This study aims to investigate whether imposter syndrome correlates with increased coping-motivated alcohol use and various alcohol outcomes, and tests whether negative affect serves as a serial mediator in these relationships.
This study recruited 376 undergraduate students who reported alcohol use in the past three months to complete an online survey. Participants completed measures assessing imposter syndrome (Clance Imposter Phenomenon Scale; CIPS), depression and anxiety (Depression Anxiety Stress Scale; DASS-21), alcohol-related problems (Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire; B-YAACQ), alcohol consumption behaviors (Daily Drinking Questionnaire; DDQ), and coping motives for drinking (modified Drinking Motive Questionnaire; DMQ-R). To examine whether the relationship between imposter syndrome and alcohol outcomes was serially mediated by negative affect and coping-motivated drinking, six serial mediation models were tested.
Imposter syndrome was significantly positively correlated with depression, anxiety, eBAC, alcohol-related problems, drinking frequency, and coping-motivated drinking. Across serial mediation models, imposter syndrome was consistently indirectly related to eBAC, drinking frequency, and alcohol-related problems primarily through pathways involving greater psychological distress (depression or anxiety) and, especially, stronger coping-motivated drinking. In the depression models, imposter syndrome predicted higher eBAC and more alcohol-related problems via the serial pathway through depression and coping motives, and via coping motives alone, but not via depression alone; these patterns remained when eBAC was included as a covariate. In the anxiety models, imposter syndrome was indirectly associated with higher eBAC, more frequent drinking, and greater alcohol-related problems via the serial pathway through anxiety and coping motives, and via coping motives alone (and, for alcohol-related problems, also via anxiety alone), with results remaining robust after adjusting for eBAC.
Takeaway: Imposter syndrome is associated with poorer alcohol outcomes through the serial effects of negative affect and coping-motivated drinking, highlighting the importance of addressing imposter syndrome in alcohol-related treatment and prevention efforts.