Strange reasons why some people stalk celebrities decoded

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Frequent personal thoughts about a favorite celebrity and a tendency to get bored are some factors that can lead people to stalk them, according to a new study.

Celebrity stalking is a serious problem affecting thousands of celebrities around the world who are occasionally confronted with fanatics giving them intimidating attention.

The study, published Wednesday by Idaho State University in the journal PLOS, surveyed nearly 600 American college students to identify factors associated with stalking tendencies.

The questionnaires measured factors previously thought to be associated with celebrity stalking, such as anger, thrill-seeking and attachment styles in relationships.

Researchers found that certain factors are associated with a greater likelihood of a person engaging in celebrity stalking, including frequent personal thoughts about a favorite celebrity and a feeling of wanting to learn more about them.

“Those who frequently have personal thoughts about their favorite celebrity and feel compelled to learn more about them are more likely to engage in celebrity stalking,” the study said.

Some factors, including needing to harm them and proneness to boredom, were also linked to greater odds of a person chasing a celebrity, according to the study.

However, the researchers said that anger, thrill-seeking, and attachment styles in relationships were not associated with a greater likelihood of engaging in celebrity stalking.

The study suggested that people are less likely to stalk celebrities when their admiration for a favorite celebrity is based almost entirely on the celebrity’s ability to entertain.

The researchers said the findings could provide new insights into what might differentiate a fan from a celebrity stalker.

Citing some limitations of the study, the researchers said the results were correlated, adding that “it’s impossible to determine causality.”

Because the survey was conducted among college students, they said the results cannot be generalized to the entire population.

“Taking into account these predictors, people who admired their favorite celebrity almost exclusively for their ability to entertain were less likely to engage in celebrity stalking,” the researchers added.