Adaptação Cultural e Validação da escala CIPS para Português Europeu e Prevalência do Fenómeno do Impostor em Estudantes de Medicina Portugueses

Trabalho Final do Mestrado Integrado em Medicina apresentado à Faculdade de MedicinaBackground: The Impostor Phenomenon (IP) occurs in individuals who, despite concrete evidence of their academic and/or professional success, are unable to internalize it. IP has harmful consequences for mental health and is more prevalent in women, medical students, and health professionals. Aim: Determine the prevalence of the IP in Portuguese Medical Students of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra (FMUC), from the 1st to the 6th year, in the academic year 2020/2021. It was intended to verify if its prevalence was different due to gender and the year of medical school attendance as well as whether there was a relationship between distress in students and the IP and between this and satisfaction with the curriculum average. Methods: Cross-cultural adaptation to European Portuguese of the Clance IP Scale (CIPS) by translation, linguistic verification, and back translation. Its internal consistency and reliability were evaluated. The IP´s prevalence was determined through the CIPS, and its results were correlated with the Patient Health Questionnaire for Depression and Anxiety (PHQ-4) scale. The data collection instrument was sent/replied through each year’s social network. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis of the data was performed. Results: CIPS demonstrated good internal consistency with a Cronbach´s Alfa of 0.755. When applying Mann-Whitney U test, no significant differences were found between the two response times and between genders. From the 277 participants enrolled in the validation phase, 11.6% experienced few, 29.6% moderate, 42.2% frequent and 16.6% intense impostor feelings. Women had the highest prevalence of the IP (p=0.030) and no significant differences were found between the several years of attendance (p=0.362). CIPS showed a moderate and significant correlation with the PHQ-4 scale (ρ=0.565; p<0.01). Impostor feelings were related to a lower satisfaction with the curriculum average (p<0.001). Discussion: Recognize and manage IP is fundamental. Further researches are needed to evaluate its impact in mental health, especially regarding Burnout. It will also be worth expanding the CIPS´s application to other Portuguese university students as well as to health professionals. Conclusion: The CIPS was successfully cross-culturally adapted and validated to the European Portuguese. A prevalence of 83,4% for more than moderate Impostor feelings, higher in women but not different throughout the clinical years was found. IP showed to be related to a lower satisfaction with the average curriculum mark, as well as with a greater distress.Introdução: O Fenómeno do Impostor (FI) ocorre em indivíduos que, apesar das evidências concretas do seu sucesso académico e/ou profissional, são incapazes de o interiorizar. Tem consequências nefastas para a saúde mental, sendo mais prevalente em mulheres, estudantes de medicina e profissionais de saúde. Objetivos: Determinar a prevalência do FI em Estudantes de Medicina Portugueses da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Coimbra (FMUC), do 1º ao 6º ano, no ano letivo 2020/2021. Em particular, pretendeu-se perceber se essa prevalência era diferente em função do sexo e dos anos de frequência bem como se havia relação entre o distress nos alunos e o FI e entre este e a satisfação com a média curricular. Métodos: Adaptação cultural da Clance IP scale (CIPS) realizando a tradução, verificação linguística e retrotradução da escala para Português Europeu. Consistência interna e confiabilidade foram avaliadas. Determinou-se a prevalência do FI, através da CIPS e os resultados foram correlacionados com a escala Patient Health Questionnaire for Depression and Anxiety (PHQ-4). O instrumento de colheita de dados foi enviado/respondido através da rede social de cada ano. Foi realizada estatística descritiva e inferencial dos dados. Resultados: A CIPS apresentou um Cronbach´s Alfa de 0.755, demonstrando boa consistência interna. Quando aplicado o teste U de Mann-Whitney, não foram encontradas diferenças significativas entre os dois tempos de resposta e entre os sexos. Dos 277 participantes envolvidos na fase de validação, 11.6% experienciaram poucos, 29.6% moderados, 42.2% frequentes e 16.6% intensos sentimentos de impostor. As mulheres tiveram a maior prevalência de FI (p=0.030) e não foram encontradas diferenças significativas entre os vários anos de frequência (p=0.362). A CIPS e a escala PHQ-4 apresentaram uma correlação moderada e significativa (ρ=0.565; p<0.01). Sentimentos de impostor foram relacionados com uma menor satisfação com a média curricular (p