When Ideology Hurts: Effects of Belief in the Protestant Ethic and Feeling Overweight on the Psychological Well-Being of Women

Two studies addressed the relationship between Protestant ethic (PE) ideology and psychological well-being for self-perceived overweight and normal weight women. In Study 1, PE beliefs interacted with self-perceived weight status: For very overweight women, higher PE beliefs were related to lower psychological well-being, whereas the opposite pattern emerged for normal weight women. The relationship of PE to well-being was not mediated by beliefs about controllability of weight or dislike of the overweight. In Study 2, either a PE ideology or an inclusive ideology was primed within the context of the stigma of overweight. For overweight participants, priming PE ideology led to decreased psychological well-being, whereas priming an inclusive ideology led to increased psychological well-being. Normal weight participants were unaffected. PE ideology as a vulnerability factor for the psychological well-being of the overweight is discussed.