Avid followers of entertainment and celebrity news have likely noticed the mainstream incorporation of the term “parasocial relationship.” “Parasocial” refers to an interest in celebrities or, more specifically, an intensive focus on a celebrity’s personal life [1]. This can be platonic, romantic, or anywhere in between, and it has become more common with the rise of social media. Most of the time, such relationships are lighthearted. Yet they may have a potential link to serious mental health conditions.

In 2006, researchers conducted two studies to determine if there was a correlation between extreme celebrity worship and mental health issues. The first study measured the accuracy of a test called the Celebrity Attitude Scale in determining one’s feelings towards a favorite celebrity. The second study focused on correlations between celebrity attitudes and potential mental health conditions like obsessive-compulsive disorder [1].

Definitions

The second study involves four aspects of mental health. Obsessional-compulsive disorder, more commonly referred to as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), is a disorder that involves recurring thoughts known as obsessions as well as repetitive actions known as compulsions [1]. Fantasy proneness involves vivid fantasies, and in some cases, the individual may be unable to tell the difference between reality and imagination [2]. Dissociation is a sense of disconnect between one’s identity and self, such as a feeling that your body is not your own [3]. Lastly, ego-identity comes from psychologist Erik Erikson’s model of achievement and is the link between your identity and achievements. For instance, a strong ego-identity is when you are certain about your life path, whereas a weak ego-identity creates uncertainty and doubt [1].

Research Methods and Materials

For the studies, 219 adults in England were randomly sampled and surveyed with several psychological scales. From the first study, the Celebrity Attitude Scale contains questions like “One of the main reasons I maintain an interest in MFC [my favorite celebrity] is that doing so gives me a temporary escape from life’s problems” and “When something good happens to MFC, I feel like it happened to me” and “Learning the life story of MFC is a lot of fun” [1].

The other surveys, which were part of the second study, were related to mental health. The Maudsley Obsessional Compulsive Inventory, which tests for OCD, included statements such as “I spend a lot of time every day checking things over and over again” [1]. From the Creative Experiences Questionnaire, which measures fantasy-proneness, there were statements such as “Many of my fantasies have a realistic intensity” [1]. For dissociation, the Dissociative Experiences Scale asked participants to rank how much they agreed with statements like “Some people have the experience of looking in a mirror and not recognising themselves” [1]. Lastly, the Ego Identity Scale measured participants’ thoughts on statements such as “I have a clear vision of how my life will unfold ahead of me” [1].

Results

After the survey results were collected, the data was analyzed, and correlation values were calculated for different variables. To measure the degree of celebrity interest, researchers used three categories that increased in levels of intensity. Entertainment-social celebrity worship is how entertaining a celebrity is, and it refers to more surface-level fascination [1]. Intense-personal celebrity worship includes personal thoughts and feelings regarding a celebrity, and obsession tends to be involved [1]. The most severe is borderline-pathological celebrity worship, which is related to pathological actions and thoughts that may violate social norms [1].

The initial data analysis produced statistically significant results: researchers found a positive relationship between obsessive personalities and intense-personal/borderline-pathological celebrity worship. Additionally, there was a negative relationship between ego-identity and the same two forms of worship. In other words, the more someone worships a celebrity, the weaker their ego-identity tends to be, meaning they have a less clear sense of self [1]. 

However, the authors of the study note that all four mental health conditions have positive correlations with each other; thus, a person more likely to have OCD might also be more likely to experience dissociation. An additional level of calculation was required to determine if there was still a correlation between each individual aspect of mental health and celebrity worship.

The graphs above are based on the standardized regression coefficient, which measures how much the dependent variable changes based on the independent variable. As shown in the light blue graphs, fantasy-proneness and dissociation were most strongly related to celebrity attitudes. Though there are still relationships between ego-identity and OCD, they are much less obvious with this statistical analysis. It is likely difficult to separate out the different conditions and their individual relations to celebrity worship.

Conclusions

From the results, the researchers developed two hypotheses. Either increased celebrity worship leads to increased mental health conditions or people who already have certain mental health disorders worship celebrities differently. For the second hypothesis, an example would be that people with OCD tend to be more obsessive, so they naturally fixate more on a celebrity. It is important to note that no causation was proved, but the correlation is strong. Either way, there is a clear relationship between the variables that requires further investigation.

Fantasizing, obsessing, and wondering about a celebrity’s life are all part of celebrity worship, and they are also all part of certain disorders, so this outcome seems fairly logical. Although parasocial relationships aren’t inherently bad, they can become unhealthy, especially if they are used for escapism. With the results drawn by the researchers, parasocial relationships could potentially be included as a potential risk factor for mental health. However, there needs to be more research for that to happen. Future research might involve current-day parasocial relationships, especially with younger people, because perceived closeness with celebrities has increased due to social media.

The final takeaway: is a celebrity obsession bad? No, but it might be best taken in moderation and to maintain the same sense of balance you would with your real, in-person relationships.

References:

1. Maltby J, Day L, McCutcheon LE, Houran J, Ashe D. Extreme celebrity worship, fantasy proneness and dissociation: Developing the measurement and understanding of celebrity worship within a clinical personality context. Personality and Individual Differences [ScienceDirect]. 2005 Jul 4; 40(2):273-283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2005.07.004. 
2. Bacon AM, Walsh CR, Martin L. Fantasy proneness and counterfactual thinking. Personality and Individual Differences [ScienceDirect]. 2012 Sep 23; 54(4):469-473. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2012.09.023.
3. Drescher, Jack [physician review]. What Are Dissociative Disorders? American Psychiatric Association; 2022 Oct. Available from: https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/dissociative-disorders/what-are-dissociative-disorders