TY - JOUR
T1 - Transformative experience and social connectedness mediate the mood-enhancing effects of psychedelic use in naturalistic settings
AU - Forstmann, Matthias
AU - Yudkin, Daniel A.
AU - Prosser, Annayah M.B.
AU - Megan Heller, S.
AU - Crockett, Molly J.
N1 - Funding Information:
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. For their help at various stages of the project, we thank Valerie Avalos, Erie Boorman, Kathleen Bryson, Alek Chakroff, Sebastian Deri, Yarrow Dunham, Cabe Franklin, Stacy Hackner, Aimie Hope, Kate Hyslop, Katie Joyce, Joshua Keay, Vani Kilakkathi, Enoch Lambert, Ashley Lee, Theo Masters-Waage, Kateri McRae, Tim Muller, David Newman, Cecilia Nunez, Laurie Paul, Kelly Peters, Matt Plaia, Heather Rivers, Judy Saunders, Alexandra Sofrienew, Daveed Walzer, Caroline Webb, James Whittington, Kate Wolfe, and the event organizers and contacts. This research was supported through a grant from the Experience Project from the John Templeton Foundation (ID 49683). The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/2/4
Y1 - 2020/2/4
N2 - Past research suggests that use of psychedelic substances such as LSD or psilocybin may have positive effects on mood and feelings of social connectedness. These psychological effects are thought to be highly sensitive to context, but robust and direct evidence for them in a naturalistic setting is scarce. In a series of field studies involving over 1,200 participants across six multiday mass gatherings in the United States and the United Kingdom, we investigated the effects of psychedelic substance use on transformative experience, social connectedness, and positive mood. This approach allowed us to test preregistered hypotheses with high ecological validity and statistical precision. Controlling for a host of demographic variables and the use of other psychoactive substances, we found that psychedelic substance use was significantly associated with positive mood—an effect sequentially mediated by self-reported transformative experience and increased social connectedness. These effects were particularly pronounced for those who had taken psychedelic substances within the last 24 h (compared to the last week). Overall, this research provides robust evidence for positive affective and social consequences of psychedelic substance use in naturalistic settings.
AB - Past research suggests that use of psychedelic substances such as LSD or psilocybin may have positive effects on mood and feelings of social connectedness. These psychological effects are thought to be highly sensitive to context, but robust and direct evidence for them in a naturalistic setting is scarce. In a series of field studies involving over 1,200 participants across six multiday mass gatherings in the United States and the United Kingdom, we investigated the effects of psychedelic substance use on transformative experience, social connectedness, and positive mood. This approach allowed us to test preregistered hypotheses with high ecological validity and statistical precision. Controlling for a host of demographic variables and the use of other psychoactive substances, we found that psychedelic substance use was significantly associated with positive mood—an effect sequentially mediated by self-reported transformative experience and increased social connectedness. These effects were particularly pronounced for those who had taken psychedelic substances within the last 24 h (compared to the last week). Overall, this research provides robust evidence for positive affective and social consequences of psychedelic substance use in naturalistic settings.
KW - Mood
KW - Psychedelic substances
KW - Social connectedness
KW - Transformative experiences
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U2 - 10.1073/pnas.1918477117
DO - 10.1073/pnas.1918477117
M3 - Article
C2 - 31964815
AN - SCOPUS:85079020244
SN - 0027-8424
VL - 117
SP - 2338
EP - 2346
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
IS - 5
ER -