Mediating effects of social connectedness and inspiration in the relationship between fandom identity and mental health

• Main Author: Arizabal, Jerizza Joy R.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2023
• Subjects: Fans (Persons); Mental health; Group identity; Clinical Psychology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdm_psych/41; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etdm_psych/article/1042/viewcontent/2023_Arizabal_Mediating_Effects_of_Social_Connectedness_and_Inspiration_Full_text.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

K-Pop has become a global phenomenon that has attracted a loyal group of individuals to join their fandom. At face value, their fanaticism may appear as enthusiastic admiration towards K-Pop idols; however, it is presumed that membership in a K-Pop fandom can also benefit mental health. In the present study, the researcher aimed to answer if K-Pop fandom identity can predict mental health, specifically: subjective well-being and depression. Moreover, the researcher aimed to identify whether social connectedness and inspiration could mediate the relationship between the predictor and criterion variables. The researcher hypothesized that one’s K-Pop fandom identity can positively influence their subjective well-being and negatively influence their depression, due to the mediation of psychological resources such as social connectedness from fellow fans and inspiration from their K-Pop idols. Using data from 425 K-Pop fans, the researcher conducted linear regression and mediation analyses. The results revealed that K-Pop fandom identity significantly predicted subjective well-being. Furthermore, social connectedness fully mediated the relationship between K-Pop fandom identity and subjective well-being. Additionally, K-Pop fandom identity also directly predicted lower levels of depression but social connectedness and inspiration were not significantly correlated with depression; hence, it was dropped from the mediation model. The implications of these findings and directions for future studies are elaborated on in their respective sections.