Psychedelic Use and Behavioral Addictions.
Trey Brasher, David Rosen, Marcello Spinella
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs March 15, 2025 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2025.2474244 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Pilot study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1,107 |
| Population | Community sample of adults |
| Topics | Addiction |
| Keywords | Psychedelics Behavioral addiction Naturalistic Self-report survey |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key findings | Psychedelic use uniquely predicted lower behavioral addiction scores, while major stimulant, alcohol, and nicotine vaping use predicted higher scores. |
Abstract
Recent clinical trials on classic psychedelics for depression and anxiety have raised questions about their potential to treat other psychiatric conditions. Evidence from pre-clinical and clinical research suggests psychedelics may help with substance use disorders, with ongoing registered trials. Behavioral addictions, sharing features with substance addictions, may also respond to psychedelic treatment. This study examined self-reported symptoms of problem gambling, sexual addiction, compulsive buying, and eating disorders in a community sample (N = 1107), alongside measures of well-being (self-transcendence, personal growth, depression/anxiety, etc.), and use of psychedelics and other psychoactive drugs. Significant positive correlations emerged among well-being measures and among behavioral addiction symptoms, with inverse correlations between well-being and behavioral addictions. Psychedelic users reported greater well-being and lower behavioral addiction symptoms, even after controlling for demographics and other drug use. Principal components analysis showed that behavioral addictions formed a single factor, which was combined into a composite score. Multiple regression analyses revealed that major stimulant, alcohol, and nicotine vaping use predicted higher behavioral addiction scores, while psychedelic use uniquely predicted lower scores. These findings suggest psychedelics may aid in treating behavioral addictions. A controlled pilot study or clinical trial is warranted to explore this therapeutic potential further.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on addiction, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Persisting Reductions in Cannabis, Opioid, and Stimulant Misuse After Naturalistic Psychedelic Use: An Online Survey Online survey respondents | 2020 | Cross-sectional survey | |
| The users of Novel Psychoactive Substances: Online survey about their characteristics, attitudes and motivations International users of novel psychoactive substances recruited via bluelight.org | 2016 | Cross-sectional online survey | n = 619 |
| User perceptions of the benefits and harms of hallucinogenic drug use: A web-based questionnaire study Users of hallucinogenic drugs who completed a web-based questionnaire | 2010 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 600 |
| Psychological and neuropsychological assessment of regular hoasca users. Regular hoasca users from a U.S. branch of União do Vegetal and matched non-user controls | 2016 | Cross-sectional study | n = 57 |
| Client and counselor attitudes toward the use of medications for treatment of opioid dependence. Counselors and clients from outpatient, methadone, and residential drug treatment programs | 2007 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 1,459 |
Citations in the library
Cites 32
- REBUS and the Anarchic Brain: Toward a Unified Model of the Brain Action of Psychedelics Pharmacological Reviews June 20, 2019
- Long-term follow-up of psilocybin-facilitated smoking cessation The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse July 21, 2016
- Percentage of Heavy Drinking Days Following Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy vs Placebo in the Treatment of Adult Patients With Alcohol Use Disorder JAMA Psychiatry August 24, 2022
- Global Street Food: la cocina de la calle Diseño interior 2009
- Psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression: fMRI-measured brain mechanisms. Scientific Reports October 13, 2017
and 27 more in the library