Authoritarian Parenting and Impostor Syndrome among University Students Who Perceive Themselves as Being in the Wrong Major

Lydia Indira; Martha Ayu

doi:10.31479/intensi.v1i1.1

Authors

Lydia Indira Universitas Jayabaya Author
Martha Ayu Universitas Jayabaya Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31479/intensi.v1i1.1

Keywords:

Authoritarian Parenting, Impostor Syndrome, Major Mismatch, University Students, Family Influence

Abstract

Purpose - This study examined the relationship between authoritarian parenting and impostor syndrome among university students who perceived themselves as being in the wrong major.

Methodology - The study used a quantitative correlational design. The participants were 100 university students in Jakarta who belonged to five wrong-major student communities and met the criteria of being 18 to 26 years old, enrolled in semesters 2 to 8, and having a GPA above 3.00. Data were collected using authoritarian parenting and impostor syndrome questionnaires. Validity and reliability tests were conducted, and the hypothesis was analyzed using Pearson product-moment correlation with SPSS 22.0.

Findings - The results showed a significant positive relationship between authoritarian parenting and impostor syndrome, r = .230, p = .021, N = 100. Students who reported stronger authoritarian parenting tendencies also reported higher impostor syndrome tendencies.

Implications - The findings indicate that family communication, autonomy support, and parental responsiveness matter in reducing students' self-doubt and feelings of intellectual fraudulence.

Originality - This study contributes to Indonesian higher education psychology by linking authoritarian parenting to impostor syndrome in the specific context of students who experience academic-major mismatch.

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