Abstract
Bravata and colleagues synthesise 62 studies (14,161 participants) on impostor syndrome — prevalence varies widely by screening tool (9–82%), symptoms appear in both men and women across the lifespan, and correlate with depression, anxiety, burnout, and impaired job performance; no published treatment evaluations met inclusion criteria.
Bravata, D. M., Watts, S. A., Keefer, A. L., Madhusudhan, B., Taylor, K. T., Clark, D. M., Nelson, R. S., Cokley, K. O., & Hwang, C. K. (2020). Prevalence, predictors, and treatment of impostor syndrome: A systematic review. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 35(4), 1252–1275. DOI
Key findings
- Wide prevalence band — Reported rates span 9% to 82%, driven largely by instrument choice and cutoffs — not a single population base rate.
- Beyond gender stereotype — Common in men and women and from adolescents through late-career professionals — not limited to the original high-achieving-women frame.
- Workplace comorbidity — Associated with depression, anxiety, burnout, and reduced job satisfaction and performance in employee samples including clinicians.
- Treatment gap — No published treatment trials met inclusion criteria — prevalence and correlates are better mapped than evidence-based interventions.
Limits
Heterogeneous instruments and cutoffs — prevalence is a band, not one true rate. Half of age-effect studies found decline with age, half did not. Ethnic-minority samples under-represented in standard measures — validity across populations remains open.
Application
When someone treats impostor feelings as proof they are uniquely unqualified, cite the wide prevalence band and comorbidity pattern — the phenomenon is structurally common, not a private defect. Pair Impostor syndrome with bounded public reps, not reassurance alone.