Revisiting the Relationship Between Celebrity Worship and Intimate Relationship Expectations in Indian and American Adolescents

The purposes of the present study were to correct some mistakes in a previous study (Jia, 2025) done in China and to attempt to replicate the Chinese findings in the United States and India. In two related studies (India & the United States) we administered a brief version of the Celebrity Attitude Scale (CAS-7), a modified version of the Romantic Beliefs Scale (RBS), and the short version of the Self-Reflection and Insight Scale (SRIS) to late adolescents. We hypothesized, and generally found, that the relationship between admiration for one’s favorite celebrity was positively related to the belief that adult intimate relationships will always remain very romantic. We found no gender difference in Romantic Beliefs scores in either country. A subsample of participants who selected an other-gender favorite celebrity did not score significantly higher on the CAS-7 than those who selected a favorite celebrity of the same gender as the participant. Lower SRIS scores were associated with higher CAS-7 scores and higher RBS scores in both countries. Discussion focused on cultural similarities and differences.