The President鈥檚 Perspective听is a blog series from 海角乱伦 President Fran Brown that explores the field of humanistic psychology and share insights into her experience as President. This month, President Brown shares an article on the intersection of Imposter Syndrome and parentification 鈥� and what can help.
Nearly a year ago I came across听听on imposter syndrome in the听Chronicle of Higher Education.听I鈥檝e been saving it to share at the start of the academic year, when graduate students may be at their most vulnerable for comparing themselves to their colleagues and believing they鈥檙e coming up short. As indicated in the article, we in academia are susceptible to imposter syndrome; I believe we can all benefit from this Quick Tip.
How to Beat Imposter Syndrome.
Talk about it with your colleagues. Maybe you鈥檝e been through an examination or two, maybe you have deadlines looming. Perhaps you鈥檝e experienced the urge to flee while sitting in a seminar.
Instead of running for the door, know this: It鈥檚 not unusual to feel as though you don鈥檛 belong because you鈥檙e not smart enough or deserving enough. It can happen around exam time or anytime of the year.
In fact, some groups of people 鈥� women, people of color, first-generation students 鈥� are particularly prone to those feelings. It鈥檚 called imposter syndrome. And many academics continue to feel like imposters long after they earn their doctorates.鈥� (Chronicle of Higher Education, 2018)
Another group at risk for imposter syndrome are individuals with a childhood history of听parentification. Parentification occurs when a child is made responsible for age-inappropriate emotional caretaking of one or more parents or primary caregivers. In these families, parents abdicate their authoritative roles and impose these responsibilities onto their children (Minuchin, Montalvo, Guenery, Rosman, & Schumer, 1967).
It鈥檚 easy to see how parentified children may grow into adults who feel like imposters. Parentified children ignore their own needs and focus on the needs of their parents. The unfortunate outcome can be difficulty with developing an independent sense of self and/or realistic view of one鈥檚 own abilities (Castro, Jones, & Mirsalimi, 2004). Because it is not possible for a child to fully meet the needs of the parent, they often grow into adults who are prone to feelings of inadequacy. These individuals can be anxious about their ability to meet the demands they place on themselves 鈥� the same self-doubt found in the impostor phenomenon:
Impostors feel that they will fail to live up to others鈥� and their own expectations鈥they] harbor feelings of incompetence and are convinced that they are less intelligent than other people believe them to be. Striving to meet others鈥� expectations, they are insecure about their true identities. (Castro, Jones, & Mirsalimi, 2004)
According to the听Chronicle, the best way to fight the imposter syndrome is to talk about it:
Be honest when you don鈥檛 know things, and raise the subject of imposter syndrome yourself, whether talking about it with your peers or with your students. If you鈥檙e open about it, you can build a support network to help you through tough times. (2018)
References:
Castro, D. M., Jones, R. A., & Mirsalimi, H. (2004).听听The American Journal of Family Therapy,听32,听205-216.
Chase, N. D. (Ed.). (1999).听Burdened children: Theory, research and treatment of parentification. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Chronicle of Higher Education听(2018), Vol. LXV, #13, p. A4.
Minuchin, S., Montalvo, B., Guerney, B. G., Rosman, B., & Schumer, F. (1967).听Families of the slums: An exploration of their structure and treatment.听New York: Basic Books.