The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between imposter feelings and achievement dispositions (i.e., self-handicapping behaviors and personal development competitive attitudes). It was hypothesized that imposter feelings would be positively correlated to self-handicapping behaviors and negatively correlated to personal development competitive attitudes. Female clinical psychologists with at least 10 years of postlicensure experience (N = 75) were recruited via American Psychological Association Division Listservs, the Illinois Psychological Association’s Listserv, and networking among mental health professionals. Participants completed the Clance Imposter Phenomenon Scale (CIPS), the Self-Handicapping Scale (SHS), and the Personal Development Competitive Attitude Scale (PDCA). Two Pearson product-moment correlations were run to examine the relationships. A moderate positive correlation was found between a woman’s experience of imposter characteristics and her tendency to self-handicap, confirming the first hypothesis. The second hypothesis was not confirmed, as the correlation between imposter characteristics and personal development competitive attitudes was non-significant. The findings from this study are directly applicable to the therapeutic context, as these factors provide insight into the internal experiences and perspectives of women psychologists and help to encourage a conversation regarding self-awareness in therapists.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between imposter feelings and achievement dispositions (i.e., self-handicapping behaviors and personal development competitive attitudes). It was hypothesized that imposter feelings would be positively correlated to self-handicapping behaviors and negatively correlated to personal development competitive attitudes. Female clinical psychologists with at least 10 years of postlicensure experience (<em>N</em> = 75) were recruited via American Psychological Association Division Listservs, the Illinois Psychological Association’s Listserv, and networking among mental health professionals. Participants completed the Clance Imposter Phenomenon Scale (CIPS), the Self-Handicapping Scale (SHS), and the Personal Development Competitive Attitude Scale (PDCA). Two Pearson product-moment correlations were run to examine the relationships. A moderate positive correlation was found between a woman’s experience of imposter characteristics and her tendency to self-handicap, confirming the first hypothesis. The second hypothesis was not confirmed, as the correlation between imposter characteristics and personal development competitive attitudes was non-significant. The findings from this study are directly applicable to the therapeutic context, as these factors provide insight into the internal experiences and perspectives of women psychologists and help to encourage a conversation regarding self-awareness in therapists.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Sivesind, Kayla"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Psy.D. Doctor of Clinical Psychology","degree_level":"Dissertation - NLU Access","degree_discipline":"Clinical Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Charles E. Davis, PhD","Sandra G. Zakowski, PhD","Shivroup K. Grewal, PsyD"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-09-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-09-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:20:57Z","subjects":["imposter phenomenon","achievement dispositions","self-handicapping","Clinical Psychology","Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/518","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Charles E. Davis, PhD","Sandra G. Zakowski, PhD","Shivroup K. 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Doctor of Clinical Psychology"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["imposter phenomenon","achievement dispositions","self-handicapping","Clinical Psychology","Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/518"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between imposter feelings and achievement dispositions (i.e., self-handicapping behaviors and personal development competitive attitudes). It was hypothesized that imposter feelings would be positively correlated to self-handicapping behaviors and negatively correlated to personal development competitive attitudes. Female clinical psychologists with at least 10 years of postlicensure experience (N = 75) were recruited via American Psychological Association Division Listservs, the Illinois Psychological Association’s Listserv, and networking among mental health professionals. Participants completed the Clance Imposter Phenomenon Scale (CIPS), the Self-Handicapping Scale (SHS), and the Personal Development Competitive Attitude Scale (PDCA). Two Pearson product-moment correlations were run to examine the relationships. A moderate positive correlation was found between a woman’s experience of imposter characteristics and her tendency to self-handicap, confirming the first hypothesis. The second hypothesis was not confirmed, as the correlation between imposter characteristics and personal development competitive attitudes was non-significant. The findings from this study are directly applicable to the therapeutic context, as these factors provide insight into the internal experiences and perspectives of women psychologists and help to encourage a conversation regarding self-awareness in therapists.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Imposter Phenomenon and Achievement Dispositions in High-Achieving Women in Clinical Psychology"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Charles E. Davis, PhD","Sandra G. Zakowski, PhD","Shivroup K. Grewal, PsyD"],"dc:creator":["Sivesind, Kayla"],"dc:date.available":["2020-09-15T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between imposter feelings and achievement dispositions (i.e., self-handicapping behaviors and personal development competitive attitudes). It was hypothesized that imposter feelings would be positively correlated to self-handicapping behaviors and negatively correlated to personal development competitive attitudes. Female clinical psychologists with at least 10 years of postlicensure experience (N = 75) were recruited via American Psychological Association Division Listservs, the Illinois Psychological Association’s Listserv, and networking among mental health professionals. Participants completed the Clance Imposter Phenomenon Scale (CIPS), the Self-Handicapping Scale (SHS), and the Personal Development Competitive Attitude Scale (PDCA). Two Pearson product-moment correlations were run to examine the relationships. A moderate positive correlation was found between a woman’s experience of imposter characteristics and her tendency to self-handicap, confirming the first hypothesis. The second hypothesis was not confirmed, as the correlation between imposter characteristics and personal development competitive attitudes was non-significant. The findings from this study are directly applicable to the therapeutic context, as these factors provide insight into the internal experiences and perspectives of women psychologists and help to encourage a conversation regarding self-awareness in therapists.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/518"],"dc:subject":["imposter phenomenon","achievement dispositions","self-handicapping","Clinical Psychology","Psychology"],"dc:title":["The Imposter Phenomenon and Achievement Dispositions in High-Achieving Women in Clinical Psychology"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Clinical Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation - NLU Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Psy.D. Doctor of Clinical Psychology"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:20:57Z"}