A path analytic review of the association between psychiatric symptoms and celebrity worship: The mediating role of maladaptive daydreaming and desire for fame

Zsila, Ágnes; McCutcheon, Lynn E.; Demetrovics, Zsolt

doi:10.1016/j.paid.2019.109511

Cited by 15 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…The demographic data we collected were in line with previous studies that reported higher levels of MD among young adults (Zsila et al, 2019 ), no gender differences (although female participants are more represented among MDers; see Schimmenti et al, 2020c ), low levels of MD in individuals with higher education (Somer et al, 2016c ) and among those who are not in a romantic relationship (Somer et al, 2016b ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Maladaptive Daydreaming in an Adult Italian Population During the COVID-19 Lockdown

et al. 2021

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During the COVID-19 outbreak, individuals with or without mental disorders may resort to dysfunctional psychological strategies that could trigger or heighten their emotional distress. The current study aims to explore the links between maladaptive daydreaming (MD, i.e., a compulsive fantasy activity associated with distress and psychological impairment), psychological symptoms of depression, anxiety, and negative stress, and COVID-19-related variables, such as changes in face-to-face and online relationships, during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy. A total of 6,277 Italian adults completed an online survey, including socio-demographic variables, COVID-19 related information, the 16-item Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale (MDS-16), and Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales-21 Items (DASS-21). Based on an empirically derived cut-off score, 1,082 participants (17.2%) were identified as probable maladaptive daydreamers (MDers). A binary logistic regression revealed that compared to controls, probable MDers reported that during the COVID-19 lockdown they experienced higher levels of anxiety and depression, decreased online social relationships, and, surprisingly, stable or increased face-to-face social relationships. Given the peculiar characteristics of the pandemic context, these findings suggest that the exposure to the risk of contagion had probably exacerbated the tendency of probable MDers to lock themselves inside their mental fantasy worlds, which in turn may have contributed to further estrangement from online social relationships and support, thus worsening their emotional distress.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Maladaptive Daydreaming in an Adult Italian Population During the COVID-19 Lockdown

et al. 2021

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“…Although findings are mixed regarding gender differences in celebrity worship (Brooks, 2018), a recent study on a sample of Hungarian adults has reported that women exhibited slightly higher levels of celebrity worship than men (Zsila et al, 2019). The present research was also conducted using a Hungarian sample.…”

Section: Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…Maladaptive daydreaming had a positive relationship with several psychological difficulties such as depressive symptoms, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (Somer et al, 2017). Maladaptive daydreaming was also associated with celebrity worship (Zsila et al, 2019), and frequent daydreaming had a positive relationship with daytime sleepiness (Carciofo et al, 2014). Daytime sleepiness is generally associated with feelings of being exhausted, weary or worn out (Marques et al, 2019) and impairs cognitive performance (Merlino et al, 2010).…”

Section: Perceived Daytime Sleepinessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, the relationship between poorer mental health and frequent daytime sleepiness was stronger for younger individuals (Bixler et al, 2005). Drawing upon this association, and provided that celebrity worship was associated with younger age and more frequent daydreaming experiences (Zsila et al, 2019), the following hypothesis is proposed: H2: Age will not moderate the association of celebrity worship with general well-being and self-esteem, but will moderate the association between celebrity worship and perceived daytime sleepiness. Celebrity worship will be more strongly associated with perceived daytime sleepiness among younger individuals than among older individuals.…”

Section: Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Besides major demographic characteristics, several studies have investigated the association between celebrity worship and well-being (see Sansone and Sansone, 2014 for a review). These studies have found weak but consistent associations between high celebrity worship and indicators of poor mental health such as depression, anxiety, somatic symptoms (Maltby et al, 2001), impulsivity (McCutcheon et al, 2014;Aruguete et al, 2020), lower levels of life satisfaction (Maltby et al, 2004;Aruguete et al, 2019b), relative deprivation (Aruguete et al, 2020), lower self-esteem (Reeves et al, 2012), higher levels of psychological distress (Reyes et al, 2016), dissociative experiences (Maltby et al, 2006), and maladaptive daydreaming (Zsila et al, 2019). Despite the considerable research interest in the psychological well-being of individuals who admire a celebrity, still little is known about whether there are any specific individual differences between fans that can possibly amplify or mitigate their vulnerability to mental health problems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Individual Differences in the Association Between Celebrity Worship and Subjective Well-Being: The Moderating Role of Gender and Age

et al. 2021

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The association of celebrity worship with mental health concerns has been extensively studied in the past two decades. However, there is a lack of research on basic demographic characteristics that can potentially alter the link between celebrity admiration and different aspects of mental health. The present study investigates the possible moderating role of gender, age, and opposite/same-gender celebrity selection on the association of celebrity worship with general well-being, self-esteem and perceived daytime sleepiness. A total of 1763 Hungarian adults (66.42% men, Mage = 37.2 years, SD = 11.4) completed an online survey focusing on attitudes and behaviors relating to celebrities and mental well-being. The moderation analysis showed that (i) the negative association between celebrity worship and self-esteem was slightly stronger for women than for men, and (ii) the association between celebrity worship and perceived daytime sleepiness was slightly stronger for younger individuals than for older ones. Although both gender and age were particularly weak moderators, these results draw the attention to some potential individual differences when interpreting links between celebrity worship and different aspects of mental health.

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Maladaptive Daydreaming and Its Relationship with Psychopathological Symptoms, Emotion Regulation, and Problematic Social Networking Sites Use: a Network Analysis Approach

Chirico

Volpato

Landi

et al. 2022

Int J Ment Health Addiction

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The present study investigated the patterns of mutual associations between maladaptive daydreaming-related variables (MD, i.e., interference with life and somatosensory retreat), psychopathological symptoms (i.e., depression, anxiety, somatization, obsessive–compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, psychoticism), emotion regulation strategies (i.e., cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression), and problematic social networking sites use (PSNSU). A total of 531 young adults completed self-report measures through an online survey shared on social network groups. Two network models were performed on 297 young adults with probable MD (MDers) (Mage = 23.2, SD = 2.7) vs. 234 non-MDers (Mage = 23.4, SD = 2.6). Results showed that, compared to non-MDers, MDers showed significantly higher scores in all the study variables, except for cognitive reappraisal. Moreover, in the MDers network, the following patterns were identified: (i) no connections between the cluster of psychopathological symptoms, and neither cognitive reappraisal nor expressive suppression; (ii) a connection, through obsessive–compulsive (OC) symptoms, between the cluster of psychopathological symptoms and MD-interference with life; and (iii) a connection between PSNSU and MD-interference with life. Accordingly, the Network Comparison Test evidenced that the network structures of MDers vs. non-MDers were significantly different (M = .24; p = .01). Overall, higher scores on psychopathological symptoms in MDers provide support to the assumption that MD is a clinical condition, in which OC symptoms may play a critical role. Additionally, the association of PSNSU and MD-interference with life suggests that MDers might rely on PSNSU as a maladaptive emotion regulation strategy. Under this scenario, MD may be regarded as a potential vulnerability factor for PSNSU.

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A path analytic review of the association between psychiatric symptoms and celebrity worship: The mediating role of maladaptive daydreaming and desire for fame

Cited by 15 publications

References 36 publications

Maladaptive Daydreaming in an Adult Italian Population During the COVID-19 Lockdown

Maladaptive Daydreaming in an Adult Italian Population During the COVID-19 Lockdown

Individual Differences in the Association Between Celebrity Worship and Subjective Well-Being: The Moderating Role of Gender and Age

Maladaptive Daydreaming and Its Relationship with Psychopathological Symptoms, Emotion Regulation, and Problematic Social Networking Sites Use: a Network Analysis Approach

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