Photo by Alexander Mass
Written by Shahida Arabi, MA, psychopathology researcher and expert
Imposter Syndrome was first identified in 1978 by researchers Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes. They noticed this phenomenon in high achieving women at universities. Since then, psychologists have noted that Imposter Syndrome may be present in approximately 25 to 30 percent of high achievers and is prevalent in marginalized groups such as underrepresented racial, ethnic and religious minorities. This makes sense, as marginalized individuals can experience unjust microaggressions and discrimination at higher rates which may make them underestimate their own capacities even when they are high achieving and surpass their peers.
For example, in the realm of academia, highly accomplished scholars from marginalized communities may experience minimizing comments from envious privileged peers who they surpass due to jealousy — especially scholars who have groundbreaking accomplishments that they themselves don’t possess.
What is Imposter Syndrome?
People who struggle with Imposter Syndrome can like they are undeserving of the recognition and accomplishments they have garnered. Although they may be highly intelligent, educated, skilled, competent or high-achieving, they fear they are less impressive than they are perceived to be by others. Individuals with Imposter Syndrome may misattribute their hard work, natural talents and the fruits of their labor to good luck or timing. In reality, they are more than deserving and worthy of the healthy praise and recognition they receive.
How Do Narcissistic Partners and Family Members Cause Imposter Syndrome?
According to research, narcissistic individuals subject their partners and family members to distinct patterns of devaluation, envy, and rage. Romantic relationships with narcissists and psychopaths can even result in PTSD symptoms. One of the ways narcissistic individuals diminish their partners, family members, and co-workers is by belittling their skills, abilities, accomplishments, as well as their internal and external positive traits. This is how a narcissistic individual controls, isolates and polices his or her loved ones so they remain dependent on the narcissist’s validation.
There are three main ways they instill a sense of imposter syndrome in their targets:
1. Minimizing or detracting from their accomplishments, especially through comparison or by misattributing these accomplishments to good luck or chance. Narcissistic and psychopathic individuals are pathologically envious of the achievements of others. That is why they go out of their way to detract from your accomplishments. They may compare you to others (even if you surpass those people) to deflate your sense of pride in your achievements and diminish their perceived significance. Or they may claim that you were “lucky” in accomplishing your goals and attribute it to other traits you have (such as your appearance or assumed connections) even though they are well aware of your hard work and talent. This is a projection, as many narcissistic and psychopathic individuals exploit the labors of others, take advantage of any privileges they were born with, deceive, steal or leech off of others to get to where they are in the workplace and in society. As a result, they feel even more vindictive toward those who have achieved what they couldn’t organically without these privileges.
They may also try to sabotage the success of their partners and loved ones to derail their progress and destructively condition them to associate achievements with punishment. Here’s how…