The Power of Celebrity Health Events: Meta-analysis of the Relationship between Audience Involvement and Behavioral Intentions

Abstract

Audience involvement processes–such as parasocial interaction and identification–may impact an individual’s response to celebrity health events, yet to date, no synthesis of the literature exists. The present meta-analysis examined audience involvement processes and their influence on health behavior intentions in the context of celebrity health events. Fourteen studies (N = 5,718) met criteria and were analyzed using meta-analytic procedures. The weighted mean effect of the association between audience involvement and behavioral intentions was r = 0.20 (95% CI, 0.08–0.31, p