Report on psychoactive drug use among adolescents using ayahuasca within a religious context.
Evelyn Doering-Silveira, Charles S. Grob, Marlene Dobkin De Rios, Enrique Lopez, Luisa K Alonso, Cristiane Tacla, Dartiu Xavier Da Silveira
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs June 1, 2005 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2005.10399794 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 84 |
| Population | Adolescents from a Brazilian ayahuasca sect and a comparison group of adolescents who never drank ayahuasca |
| Intervention | Ayahuasca |
| Topics | Ayahuasca |
| Keywords | Adolescent substance use Religious protection Alcohol reduction |
| Citations | 122 |
| Key findings | Adolescents using ayahuasca in a religious setting had considerably lower alcohol use than controls, suggesting religious affiliation may be a protective factor. |
Abstract
Ritual use of ayahuasca within the context of the Brazilian ayahuasca churches often starts during late childhood or early adolescence. Premature access to psychoactive drugs may represent a risk factor for drug misuse. Conversely, religious affiliation seems to play a protective role in terms of substance abuse. The objective of this study was to describe patterns of drug use in a sample of adolescents using ayahuasca within a religious setting. Forty-one adolescents from a Brazilian ayahuasca sect were compared with 43 adolescents who never drank ayahuasca. No significant differences were identified in terms of lifetime substance consumption. Throughout the previous year period, ayahuasca adolescents used less alcohol (46.31%) than the comparison group (74.4%). Recent use of alcohol was also more frequent among the latter group (65.1%) than among ayahuasca drinkers (32.5%). Although not statistically significant, slight differences in terms of patterns of drug use were definitely observed among groups. Despite their early exposure to a hallucinogenic substance, adolescents using ayahuasca in a controlled setting were mostly comparable to controls except for a considerably smaller proportion of alcohol users. Religious affiliation may have played a central role as a possible protective factor for alcohol use. Thus, ayahuasca seems to be a relatively safe substance as far as drug misuse is concerned.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on ayahuasca, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antidepressant effects of a single dose of ayahuasca in patients with recurrent depression: a preliminary report Patients with a depressive disorder | 2015 | Observational study | |
| The Psychedelic State Induced by Ayahuasca Modulates the Activity and Connectivity of the Default Mode Network Experienced subjects | 2015 | Observational cohort | n = 10 |
| Human Psychopharmacology of Hoasca, A Plant Hallucinogen Used in Ritual Context in Brazil Long-term members of a syncretic church that uses hoasca as a psychoactive sacrament... | 1996 | Observational cohort with matched controls | n = 30 |
| Ayahuasca-Assisted Therapy for Addiction: Results from a Preliminary Observational Study in Canada Rural aboriginal population | 2013 | Observational study | |
| Personality, Psychopathology, Life Attitudes and Neuropsychological Performance among Ritual Users of Ayahuasca: A Longitudinal Study Regular ayahuasca users and active controls in non-ayahuasca religions | 2012 | Observational cohort | n = 242 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 86
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- Adverse effects of psychedelics: From anecdotes and misinformation to systematic science. Journal of Psychopharmacology February 2, 2022
- Antidepressive, anxiolytic, and antiaddictive effects of ayahuasca, psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD): a systematic review of clinical trials published in the last 25 years Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology March 18, 2016
- Psychedelic therapy for smoking cessation: Qualitative analysis of participant accounts Journal of Psychopharmacology June 25, 2018
and 81 more in the library