The imposter phenomenon by gender and plans to attend college in a high school sample.

Abstract

The present study was designed to investigate the Imposter Phenomenon in relation to gender and educational plans following high school graduation. The Subjects consisted of 40 eighteen year old high school seniors (20 males and 20 females) selected from Senior English classes in a rural mountain high school. All Subjects completed a demographic questionnaire and the Harvey IP Scale. The results indicated no significant difference in scores between males and females, or between college-bound and non-college-bound students. A nonsignificant interaction effect was noted. The results suggest that male and female high school students experience the Imposter Phenomenon to the same extent regardless of their being college-bound or non-college-bound. Further investigation is necessary before firm conclusions can be drawn.