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Impostor phenomenon and psychological outcomes among family medicine residents: a cross-sectional study in Croatia Cover

Impostor phenomenon and psychological outcomes among family medicine residents: a cross-sectional study in Croatia

Open Access
|Jun 2025

Figures & Tables

Figure 1

Plots showing higher mean (95 % CI) and median values of DASS-21 depression, anxiety, and stress scores in participants with CIPS scores higher than 40. * p<0.001 (Mann-Whitney U test). CI – confidence interval; CIPS – Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale; DASS-21 – Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21
Plots showing higher mean (95 % CI) and median values of DASS-21 depression, anxiety, and stress scores in participants with CIPS scores higher than 40. * p<0.001 (Mann-Whitney U test). CI – confidence interval; CIPS – Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale; DASS-21 – Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21

Selected characteristics of study participants (N=79)

VariableMale NFemale N
Partner
  Yes536
  No929

Children
  Yes121
  No1344

Mental illness
  Yes24
  No1261

School of medicine as first choice
  Yes1460
  No05

Family medicine residency as first choice
  Yes1359
  No16

Prevalence of impostor feelings among Croatian family medicine residents (N=79)

CIPS (Impostor feelings)NMedian score (min–max)95 % CI
Few ≤402031.5 (21–40)28.1–33.3
Moderate 41–603348 (41–60)46.7–50.5
Frequent 61–801966 (62–80)66.0–72.0
Intense >80789 (81–99)81.9–93.8

Prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress by severity among Croatian family medicine residents (N=79)

DASS-21 scoresNormal (N)Mild (N)Moderate (N)Severe (N)Extremely severe (N)Median score (min–max)
Depression6259122 (0–34)
Anxiety56514224 (0–24)
Stress596121110 (0–38)

Correlation between sociodemographic variables and CIPS and DASS-21 scores

ORuv95 % CIp-value*
CIPS
Gender
  Male/Female0.540.16–1.860.329
Partner
  Yes/No0.360.12–1.070.066
Children
  Yes/No0.340.12–1.010.053
Mental illness
  Yes/No1.760.19–16.030.616
DASS-21 Depression
Gender
  Male/Female0.990.24–4.050.993
Partner
  Yes/No0.420.14–1.280.128
Children
  Yes/No0.750.22–2.620.655
Mental illness
  Yes/No4.210.77–23.140.098
DASS-21 Anxiety
Gender
  Male/Female0.350.07–1.700.193
Partner
  Yes/No1.020.38–2.680.975
Children
  Yes/No0.880.29–2.640.823
Mental illness
  Yes/No1.240.21–7.280.813
DASS-21 Stress
Gender
  Male/Female1.220.34–4.450.758
Partner
  Yes/No0.890.25–1.910.476
Children
  Yes/No0.570.17–1.940.369
Mental illness
  Yes/No0.570.06–5.180.616
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/aiht-2025-76-3934 | Journal eISSN: 1848-6312 | Journal ISSN: 0004-1254
Language: English, Croatian, Slovenian
Page range: 113 - 118
Submitted on: Dec 1, 2024
Accepted on: May 1, 2025
Published on: Jun 30, 2025
Published by: Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 4 times per year

© 2025 Sunčana Vlah Tomičević, Valerija Bralić Lang, published by Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.