Impact of Celebrity Worshiping on Body Image and Maladaptive Daydreaming in Young Adults

The present study aimed to explore the predicting role of neuroticism as a dispositional factor for celebrity worshiping. And also to study the mediating role of cognitive flexibility in the relationship among CW (comprising entertainment-social, borderline-pathological, and intense-personal domains), body image and maladaptive daydreaming in the Indian population. A quantitative study was conducted with 70 young adults between the age of 18-25 years through google form; where the gathered data was processed in Jamovi for correlational and mediational analysis. CW and body image concerns had a significant positive relationship. Body image concerns also had a significant positive relationship with neuroticism and maladaptive daydreaming. In contrast, significant negative relationships were observed between cognitive flexibility with neuroticism and body image concerns, respectively. However, no significant relationships of CW with cognitive flexibility, neuroticism, and maladaptive daydreaming were observed. Furthermore, cognitive flexibility was observed to partially mediate the relationship between two domains of CW, namely, borderline-pathological and entertainment-social domains with maladaptive daydreaming & body image concerns, respectively. The present study revealed associations of CW with body image and maladaptive daydreaming, amidst the mediating role of cognitive flexibility. The study highlights the need to focus on the maladaptive impact of CW by strengthening the cognitive flexibility of individuals at risk