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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1382969
This article is part of the Research Topic Culture and Emotion in Educational Dynamics - Volume II View all 6 articles

Correlation Between Impostor Syndrome Among Doctoral Students and Supervisor Empathy in Tunisia

Provisionally accepted
Oumayma Slimi Oumayma Slimi *Mourad Bahloul Mourad Bahloul
  • University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The prevalence of impostor syndrome among PhD students has increased rapidly in recent years, having very negative effects on their mental and psychological health as well as on their doctoral journey. This exploratory study aims to examine whether there is a causal correlation between impostor syndrome among PhD students and empathy among supervisors. This study encompasses 562 doctoral students (300 females, 262 males) and 152 Tunisian supervisors (68 females, 84 males). Employing ANOVA, significant influences on impostor syndrome emerge for gender, marital status, professional status, and the doctoral enrollment level (p < .001). Concurrently, supervisors' empathy is significantly affected by gender, marital status, and experience (p < .001). Linear regression establishes a noteworthy negative correlation (p = 0.045): a one-unit increase in empathy correlates with a 0.122-unit decrease in impostor syndrome. These findings underscore the intricate relationship between socio-professional factors, empathy, and impostor syndrome within the academic milieu, offering crucial insights for interventions and psychological support. The study aligns with the broader context of understanding mental health challenges in academia, emphasizing the imperative for ongoing support initiatives.

    Keywords: Impostor syndrome, Empathy, Doctoral students, Socio-professional factors, Academic environment, doctoral supervisor

    Received: 07 Feb 2024; Accepted: 12 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Slimi and Bahloul. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Oumayma Slimi, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.