Investigation of the relationship between the parasocial interaction, self-esteem and psychological symptom levels on the basis of popular Turkish TV series which individuals aged 24-30 watch in adolescent period

Parasocial interaction is the single-sided relationship people contact with the characters of the TV series and movies they watch. As a result of this relationship, the audience experiences a parasocial separation. It is thought that the concepts of parasocial interaction and separation have an effect on individual mental health. The aim of the study is to examine the relationships between parasocial interaction and separation, people's self-esteem and psychological symptoms, and to investigate of differences according to demographic variables. In this study, demographic data form, Parasocial Interaction Scale, Parasocial Separation Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Brief Symptom Inventory were used. A total of 300 people, 173 women and 127 men, participated in the study. As a result of the analysis, significant differences were found between the mean scores of the participants according to the variables of gender, financial situation, the place where most of life took place and the habit of watching TV series. With correlation analysis, it was seen that there was a significant relationship between parasocial interaction and separation, self-esteem and psychological symptoms. Finally, parasocial interaction score was found to be a predictor of self-esteem and psychological symptoms. With the findings, the effects of the concepts of parasocial interaction and separation on the mental health of people were observed.