The Buffering Role of Social Norms for Unhealthy Eating Before, During, and After the Christmas Holidays: A Longitudinal Study

Abstract

The goal of the present study is to test whether social norms, given their power to justify behaviors, can protect the subjective well-being of group members when they engage in unhealthy eating. Method: A three-wave longitudinal study (before [T1], during [T2], and after the Christmas holidays [T3]) was conducted (N = 318). Results: Results demonstrated that changes in pro-unhealthy eating norms play a moderating role in the relationship between changes in unhealthy eating and changes in subjective wellbeing from T1 to T2, but not from T2 to T3. Specifically, when unhealthy eating increased from T1 to T2, a parallel increase in the strength of social norms buffered against a decrease in group members’ subjective well-being. The absence of moderation between T2 and T3 could be due to the fact that pro-unhealthy eating norms became less salient at T3. Discussion: These results confirm that when unhealthy eating is salient in a social context, social norms can buffer against its negative impacts.