[Psychology of celebrity worship: A literature review]

In the past two decades, there has been a considerable research interest in celebrity worship. According to the general view, celebrity worship can be considered as a continuum, ranging from a healthy enthusiasm to an exces - sive involvement. A considerable proportion of research investigating this phenomenon has focused on the explora - tion of the underlying mechanisms of excessive celebrity worship. In light of this, the primary aim of the present review is to summarize and synthesize the clinical and personality psychological characteristics of the attitudes related to celebrity worship, based on the international literature. In this review, we introduce the definition and assessment of celebrity worship. Following this, we describe the demographical and personality correlates of excessive celebrity wor - ship, and analyze the findings of empirical studies on psychological well-being, cognitive and social functioning. Based upon all this, it can be concluded that excessive celebrity worship is associated with some psychiatric symptoms (e.g., symptoms of depression and anxiety) and a lower level of cognitive (e.g., critical thinking) and social skills (e.g., attachment to peers). In this review, we also elaborate on the possibilities and challenges of future research.