IMPOSTER SYNDROME AND CONTRIBUTING FACTORS AMONG THAI UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS MAJORING IN ENGLISH AT A THAI UNIVERSITY

บทคัดย่อ

This study investigated the prevalence and contributing factors of Imposter Syndrome (IS) among undergraduate Thai students majoring in English at a Thai university. The research focused on five IS dimensions— Perfectionist, Superhero, Natural Genius, Soloist and Expert—and examined the influence of six contributing factors: grade point average (GPAX), year of study, living status with parents, parental cohabitation, family monthly income, and monthly expenses. Data were purposively collected from 200 students across four academic years, and analyses were conducted using descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).

The findings revealed that the Superhero and Soloist types were the most prevalent IS dimensions, with only minimal differences in their scores, suggesting similar levels of occurrence. The Superhero yielded the highest overall score, with 600.40 points with mean of 3.00 and SD at 0.84. Closely followed by the Soloist type, it obtained 599.80 points with mean of 3.00 and SD at 0.79. The Expert type followed with a moderate proportion, while the Perfectionist and Natural Genius types were the least represented. Furthermore, the ANOVA results indicated that none of the demographic factors—GPAX, living status with parents, parental cohabitation, or family income—contributed significantly to differences in IS tendencies. Similarly, year of study and monthly expenses did not produce meaningful variations across the 5 IS types.

Overall, the results suggested that Imposter Syndrome is present among Thai undergraduate students studying in English-related major in varying forms. Still, its expression is relatively consistent across the demographic and background factors. These findings highlighted the importance of raising awareness of IS among students, developing supportive strategies within academic contexts and emphasizing the need for institutional awareness and supported mechanisms for those at risk of Imposter Syndrome.