What makes you feel like an imposter: An investigation of caste discrimination and social support

Abstract

Imposter literature has predominantly been Western, and looked into gender and racial discrimination. The present study aimed to understand impostorism in the Indian context with a more culturally informed framework of the Caste System, and also assess the role played by perceived social support (PSS) in mediating this relationship between caste discrimination and imposter phenomenon (IP). The sample was recruited through nonprobability techniques, and comprised 168 university students in North India (aged 18-25), with 67 belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SC) and 101 to the General Caste (GEN) groups. The Clance Imposter Phenomenon Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and the Everyday Discrimination Scale were administered, following which the data was analyzed using t-test for independent samples, linear regression, and mediation analysis. Results revealed (1) no significant association between IP and caste discrimination, (2) a significant difference among GEN and SC students in perceived social support, but not for IP or caste-discrimination, and (3) significant mediating role of PSS between caste-discrimination and impostorism. These findings suggest the need for more contextual frameworks, which consider socio-cultural factors, in understanding imposter phenomenon, especially among marginalized groups.