Hope for the Future Can Reduce Anxiety, Perfectionism, and Feelings of Imposter Syndrome

Abstract

Hope plays a significant role in reducing anxious and depressive symptoms, which are associated with imposter syndrome and perfectionism. However, there is little knowledge about how hope may impact imposter syndrome or perfectionism, and no studies have examined whether anxiety mediates these relationships. Thus, the objectives of this study are to explore the following: 1) the relationship between hope and imposter syndrome, 2) the relationship between hope and perfectionism, and 3) whether trait anxiety, which describes a person’s general tendency to be anxious, mediates these relationships. Data was collected by surveying 271 individuals from an undergraduate population using an online questionnaire; this data was then analyzed using multiple regression and bootstrapped mediation analyses in SPSS statistics software. The results showed that as feelings of hope increase, beliefs about imposter syndrome and perfectionism decrease. Additionally, trait anxiety was found to mediate the relationship between hope and imposter syndrome, as well as between hope and perfectionism. In other words, the results showed that greater levels of hope are associated with less trait anxiety, which correlates with lower endorsements of imposter syndrome or perfectionism. Together, these findings suggest that people with higher levels of hope tend to have lower levels of anxiety. As a result, these people may be less impacted by perfectionism and imposter syndrome. This work demonstrates that increasing hope could be instrumental in reducing levels of anxiety, imposter syndrome, and perfectionism, thus suggesting that interventions aimed at increasing hope may help reduce these maladaptive symptoms and beliefs.