Parents’ Perceptions of Their Children’s Parasocial Relationships: The Recontact Study

Abstract

Parent report measures indicate that young children’s parasocial relationships (PSRs) are multidimensional constructs consisting of dimensions such as social realism, attachment and character personification, and human-like needs. However, little is known about how parent perceptions of these dimensions evolve as children mature and form new PSRs. In this 3-year follow-up study, parents ( N = 156) from two previous studies were recontacted, and they provided updated information about their children’s PSRs in an online questionnaire. A principal components analysis revealed that the dimensions of social realism, attachment and character personification, and human-like needs reemerged when children were approximately 6- to 8-years-old and had formed new or retained previous relationships with favorite media characters. A new dimension of character qualities also emerged, paralleling the developmental changes that occur in children’s real friendships. These results clarify parent reports of the dimensions that comprise children’s PSRs and provide descriptive information about the ways in which parent perceptions of children’s PSRs shift as their children mature.