Celebrity worship among young adult fans: The role of attachment style and conformity

Emirani Nurfaiza, Farhanah Murniasih

Abstract


The rapid growth of digital fandom culture has increased emotional involvement between fans and celebrities, contributing to the emergence of celebrity worship behavior among young adults. This study aimed to examine the influence of attachment style and conformity on celebrity worship among members of Indonesian singer fanbases in Jakarta. A quantitative correlational design was employed involving 201 participants aged 18 to 25 years who were active members of Indonesian singer fan communities. Participants were selected using purposive sampling techniques. Data were collected using the Celebrity Attitude Scale, Attachment Style Questionnaire, and a conformity scale. Construct validity was tested using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) with LISREL 8.0, while hypothesis testing was conducted using multiple regression analysis with SPSS 25.0. The findings showed that attachment style and conformity simultaneously had a significant influence on celebrity worship and explained 22.1% of the variance in celebrity worship behavior. Among the attachment dimensions, only preoccupied attachment significantly predicted celebrity worship. Within the conformity dimensions, obedience and agreement also showed significant positive effects on celebrity worship. The findings indicate that emotional dependency and conformity within fandom communities contribute to stronger emotional involvement toward celebrities among young adults.


Keywords


attachment style; celebrity worship; conformity

Full Text:

PDF

References


Bangun, A. V. (2019). Konformitas penggemar K-pop pada komunitas online. Jurnal Psikologi Sosial, 17(2), 101–112.

Bartholomew, K., & Griffin, D. W. (1994). The assessment of individual differences in adult attachment. Psychological Inquiry, 5(1), 23–27.

Boon, S. D., & Lomore, C. D. (2001). Admirer-celebrity relationships among young adults: Explaining perceptions of celebrity influence on identity. Human Communication Research, 27(3), 432–465.

Booth, P. (2018). A companion to media fandom and fan studies. Wiley Blackwell.

Collison, B., Browne, B. L., McCutcheon, L., & Ivi, R. K. (2018). The Interpersonal Beginnings of Fandom: The Relation Between Attachment Style, Trust, and the Admiration of Celebrities. Interpersona An International Journal on Personal Relationships, 12(1), 23–33. https://doi.org/10.5964/ijpr.v12i1.282

DetikNews. (2022). Indonesia menjadi negara dengan pembahasan K-pop tertinggi di Twitter.

Feist, J., & Feist, G. J. (2014). Theories of personality (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

Greenwood, D. N., & Long, C. R. (2011). Attachment, belongingness needs, and relationship status predict imagined intimacy with media figures. . Communication Research, 38(2), 278–297. 10.1177/0093650210362687

Hasfaraini, R., & Dimyati, D. (2018). Konformitas pada komunitas penggemar musik populer. Jurnal Psikologi Indonesia, 7(1), 44–53.

Hofstra, J., Van Oudenhoven, J. P., & Buunk, B. P. (2005). Attachment styles and majority members’ attitudes towards adaptation of immigrants. European Journal of Social Psychology, 35(5), 585–601. 10.1002/ejsp.269

Kahr, B. (2019). Celebrity worship and emotional dependency in modern society. Psychoanalytic Review, 106(4), 511–529. https://doi.org/10.1521/prev.2019.106.4.511

Kompas.com. (2022). Indonesia menjadi salah satu negara dengan pembahasan K-pop terbesar di dunia.

Liu, C., Wang, Y., & Chen, S. (2022). Attachment insecurity and problematic fan behavior in online fandom communities. Current Psychology, 41(8), 5612–5621. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01124-6

MacNeill, L., & DiTommaso, E. (2021). Adult attachment and celebrity worship: An exploratory study. Psychological Reports, 124(5), 1981–1998.

Maltby, J., Houran, J., & McCutcheon, L. (2005). A clinical interpretation of attitudes and behaviors associated with celebrity worship. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 193(3), 161–167.

McCutcheon, L. E., Lange, R., & Houran, J. (2002). Conceptualization and measurement of celebrity worship. British Journal of Psychology, 93(1). https://doi.org/10.1348/000712602162454

Morgan, R., Taylor, J., & Martin, S. (2024). Celebrity worship and psychological well-being among young adults. Current Psychology, 43(4), 3172–3184.

Myers, D. G. (2012). Social psychology (11th ed.). McGraw-Hill.

Nurhanisyah, R. (2020). Pengaruh attachment style terhadap celebrity worship pada penggemar selebriti. Jurnal Psikologi Insight, 4(2), 88–97.

Raviv, A., Bar-Tal, D., Raviv, A., & Ben-Horin, A. (1996). Adolescent idolization of pop singers: Causes, expressions, and reliance. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 25(5), 631–650. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01537358

Sari, D. P. (2020). Hubungan konformitas dengan celebrity worship pada penggemar idola populer. Jurnal Psikologi Teori Dan Terapan, 11(1), 55–66.

Sears, D. O., Freedman, J., & Peplau, L. A. (2004). Social psychology (5th ed.). Pearson Education.

Sitasari, N. W., Rozali, Y. A., & Kurniawan, A. (2019). Self-esteem dan celebrity worship pada dewasa awal penggemar selebriti. Jurnal Psikologi Ulayat, 6(2), 145–156.

Stevens, D., & Hamann, S. (2012). Attachment style and emotional reactions toward celebrities. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 1(1), 2034.

Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflicT. In The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33–47). Brooks/Cole.

Theran, S. A., Newberg, E. M., & Gleason, T. R. (2010). Adolescent girls’ parasocial interactions with media figures. J Genet Psychology, 171(3), 270–277.

Umar, J., & Nisa, Y. F. (2020). Metode penelitian kuantitatif dalam psikologi. Prenadamedia Group.

Wann, D. L. (1995). Preliminary validation of the sport fan motivation scale. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 19(4), 377–396. https://doi.org/10.1177/019372395019004004

Widjaja, H., & Ali, M. M. (2016). Celebrity worship pada dewasa awal di Jakarta. Jurnal Psikologi, 9(2), 89–101.

Zahrotustianah, & Puspitasari, D. (2016). Celebrity worship dan dampaknya terhadap hubungan interpersonal remaja. Jurnal Psikologi Klinis Dan Kesehatan Mental, 5(1), 22–31.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.21107/personifikasi.v17i1.31254

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2026 Farhanah Murniasih

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

  

Indexed by:
   

Creative Commons License
Personifikasi by Universitas Trunojoyo Madura is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.