Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale: Brazilian adaptation

Abstract The impostor syndrome reflects doubts about personal achievements and abilities in the absence of external evidence that supports such perception. This study aimed to adapt the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS) to the Brazilian context, gathering evidence of its factorial validity and reliability. Two studies were conducted. Study 1 included 201 undergraduate students (Mage = 22.5, SD = 5.04; 71.6% female) and Study 2 analyzed 252 graduate students (Mage = 30.4, SD = 6.18; 75% female). All participants answered the CIPS and demographic questions. Exploratory factor analyses (EFA) were conducted in both studies, indicating a one-factor structure, explaining between 46.3% (Study 1) and 57% (Study 2) of the total variance, showing internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) above 0.90. The CIPS proved to be a psychometrically adequate scale that could be used in future studies to understand the overall dimension of the impostor syndrome and its correlates.