Issue 23 | June 3, 2026
IN THIS ISSUE
PERSONAL FROM VALERIE
The strange request from Nepal (and why I said NO)
FEATURED ARTICLE
Impostor Syndrome and Procrastination
FEATURED RESOURCE
NEW Racialized Impostor Phenomenon Scale
NEW HUMBLE REALIST™ REFRAME
The Strange Request from Nepal and Why I Had to Say NO
Impostor syndrome is increasingly being studied by students and faculty researchers around the world.
More and more are seeking my permission to use the Young Impostor Phenomenon Scale (YIPS).
Recent inquiries have come from Romania, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and Nepal.
I love seeing the growing international interest in impostor syndrome.
But my answer is always no.
Before I explain why, you need to understand what’s behind these requests.
The Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS) is a validated assessment designed by Pauline Clance, co-namer of the term impostor phenomenon.
CIPS uses 20 questions to determine whether an individual experiences impostor feelings/characteristics and to what degree (e.g., few, moderate, or intense).
The reason researchers like YIPS is that it has fewer questions, so subjects are more likely to complete it.
But what makes these requests so strange – and the reason I have to say no – is simple.
There is no such thing as a Young Impostor Syndrome Scale.
What happened is a researcher took an informal quiz on my old website, named it after me, and used it in a study published in a medical education journal.
Other researchers started referring to it, and voila, a “scale” is born!
The problem is, unlike CIPS or a shorter assessment known as CIPS-10, “YIPS” is not validated.
The good news is that may change!
A professor of medicine at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has asked to translate YIPS into Arabic and, importantly, to assess its validity.
If successful, I can finally tell researchers, YES, you can use the Young Impostor Phenomenon Scale!
Impostor Syndrome and Procrastination
NEW Racialized Impostor Phenomenon Scale
Impostor syndrome has been over-psychologized.
Of course it involves our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
But as Valerie Young describes it in her book, there are no fewer than seven “perfectly good reasons why someone might experience impostor syndrome.
One is societal factors, including the realities of stereotypes and the pressure to represent one’s entire group.
Put another way: We need to contextualize more and personalize less.
That’s why we’re excited to share the first, culturally-informed psychological measurement designed to assess persistent feelings of intellectual and professional self-doubt caused by systemic racial oppression, inequality, and discrimination. (APA PsychNet).
The Racialized Impostor Phenomenon Scale (RIPS) was designed and validated by a team of researchers led by psychologists and professors Dr. Donte Bernard at the University of Missouri and Dr. Kevin Cokley at the University of Michigan.
RIPS assesses impostorism specifically through the lens of lived racial experience rather than just generalized self-doubt (National Institutes of Health).
Sample questions include:
- I work hard to prove my intellectual ability to White individuals.
- I dread being evaluated by others due to stereotypes about my race.
- I have felt unsure of myself due to an experience where my race/
ethnicity was negatively brought up at work or at school.
The Three Core Factors (APA PsychNet)
Unlike traditional, generalized impostor scales, the RIPS measures three unique dimensions of racialized impostorism:
- Internalized Racial Doubt: Characterized by persistent beliefs of intellectual inadequacy tied directly to one’s racial identity.
- Racialized Burden to Prove: The psychological pressure to constantly over-perform to disprove negative racial stereotypes or validate one’s place in professional and academic spaces.
- Externalized Racial Doubt: The feeling that one’s competence is constantly questioned or invalidated by the biases of others and that systemic racism, institutional bias, and discrimination—rather than a lack of personal merit or ability—are the primary reasons for one’s professional or academic struggles and lack of advancement.
Learn More
“Initial construction and validation of the Racialized Impostor Phenomenon Scale” is available from the American Psychological Association (APA) https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2027-04817-001
If you have access to a university library system, or any library that subscribes to the Journal of Counseling Psychology, you can get the article free.
Otherwise, you’ll need to purchase a PDF for $19.95.
“There is no “end” to knowledge. When you try to know everything, it’s like trying to get to the end of the Internet. It’s simply not possible. The quest for ultimate knowledge is futile. Instead, relax and just do the best you can”
– Valerie Young
Follow and Engage With Us
Instagram: @impostorsyndrome
LinkedIn: ImpostorsyndromeInstitute
LinkedIn: ValerieYoung
Facebook: DrValerieYoung
Do these insights resonate with you? What else should we be writing about now? Tell us by emailing [email protected].
Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Subscribe below:
