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Attachment Styles and Intimate Television Viewing: Insecurely Forming Relationships in a Parasocial Way

DePaul University, tcole{at}wppost.depaul.edu

Laura Leets

Stanford University

Attachment theory was investigated as an alternative inter-personal theory for understanding how audience members form parasocial relationships with television personalities. Attachment theory posits that people develop relationships in either a secure or insecure fashion. We explored whether attachment styles influenced the extent to which individuals engage in parasocial interaction. A total of 115 students completed the parasocial scale and two attachment style questionnaires. Results provided evidence that attachment styles are related to parasocial behavior: Anxious-ambivalents were the most likely to form parasocial bonds, Avoidants were the least likely to develop such relationships, and Secures were in the middle, with the more mistrusting Secures showing a tendency to engage in parasocial interaction. The discussion focuses on the implications of these findings for the attachment process.

Key Words: attachment behavior • parasocial interaction • television viewing

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Vol. 16, No. 4, 495-511 (1999)
DOI: 10.1177/0265407599164005


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