Stressors and imposter phenomenon among master's nursing students: The mediating roles of self-efficacy and perceived stress.

BACKGROUND: The imposter phenomenon is prevalent in nursing academia and may be associated with poorer psychological well-being and professional development among nursing students. Master's nursing students, in particular, are exposed to multiple stressors that may be associated with the imposter phenomenon. However, this phenomenon remains underexplored within the context of Chinese master's nursing education. OBJECTIVE: Guided by the ABC-X model, this study aimed to examine the associations among stressors, self-efficacy, perceived stress, and the imposter phenomenon among master's nursing students. DESIGN: A multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted. SETTING: Conducted across 18 universities in China. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 352 master's nursing students were recruited for the study, of whom 297 were included in the final analysis. METHODS: The survey collected data on sociodemographic characteristics, stressors, perceived stress, self-efficacy, and the imposter phenomenon. Descriptive statistics, univariate analyses, correlation analyses, stepwise regression analyses, and mediation analyses were performed using SPSS version 26.0 and PROCESS version 4.2. RESULTS: The mean imposter phenomenon score among master's nursing students was 23.77 ± 6.24. Stepwise regression analysis showed that stressors (β = 0.203), perceived stress (β = 0.436), and self-efficacy (β = -0.152) were associated with the imposter phenomenon (all P < 0.05). Mediation analysis showed statistically significant direct and indirect effects of stressors on the imposter phenomenon. The indirect effects through self-efficacy, perceived stress, and the serial mediation pathway accounted for 14.13%, 64.13%, and 21.74% of the total indirect effect, respectively. CONCLUSION: Greater stressor exposure, higher perceived stress, and lower self-efficacy were significantly associated with higher levels of the imposter phenomenon. Nursing education institutions may consider developing educational and psychological strategies to target stress management, stress appraisal processes, and self-efficacy development.