PARASOCIAL RELATIONS AND ROMANTIC ATTRACTION - GENDER AND DATING STATUS DIFFERENCES

The present study explores the links between individual TV viewers' wo rking models of attachment (Bowlby, 1980) and the parasocial relations they establish with their favorite TV character. Student subjects ans wered a survey that assessed the intensity of their parasocial relatio nships and the content of their mental models of attachment Results sh ow a selective pattern of relationships between attachment models and parasocial relationships. For dating subjects, males were found to hav e stronger parasocial relationships with their favorite characters as they were more anxious about their current partner. Females, on the ot her hand, were found to have stronger parasocial relationships as they were more secure in their current Findings are discussed in terms of gender differences in romantic relationships.