Ayahuasca in adolescence: a preliminary psychiatric assessment.
Dartiu Xavier Da Silveira, Charles S. Grob, Marlene Dobkin De Rios, Enrique Lopez, Luisa K Alonso, Cristiane Tacla, Evelyn Doering-Silveira
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs June 1, 2005 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2005.10399792 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Controlled cross-sectional study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 80 |
| Population | Adolescents from a Brazilian ayahuasca sect and matched controls |
| Intervention | Ayahuasca |
| Topics | Ayahuasca |
| Keywords | Psychedelic medicine Entheogenic practice Adolescent mental health Youth well-being Teenage psychological health Religious affiliation Spiritual practice Faith-based community Protective factors Resilience |
| Citations | 111 |
| Key findings | Adolescents who consume ayahuasca within a religious context show lower frequencies of anxiety, body dysmorphism, and attentional problems compared to matched controls. |
Abstract
Ayahuasca is believed to be harmless for those (including adolescents) drinking it within a religious setting. Nevertheless controlled studies on the mental/ psychiatric status of ritual hallucinogenic ayahuasca concoction consumers are still lacking. In this study, 40 adolescents from a Brazilian ayahuasca sect were compared with 40 controls matched on sex, age, and educational background for psychiatric symptomatology. Screening scales for depression, anxiety, alcohol consumption patterns (abuse), attentional problems, and body dysmorphic disorders were used. It was found that, compared to controls, considerable lower frequencies of positive scoring for anxiety, body dismorphism, and attentional problems were detected among ayahuasca-using adolescents despite overall similar psychopathological profiles displayed by both study groups. Low frequencies of psychiatric symptoms detected among adolescents consuming ayahuasca within a religious context may reflect a protective effect due to their religious affiliation. However further studies on the possible interference of other variables in the outcome are necessary.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on ayahuasca, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Survey of subjective "God encounter experiences": Comparisons among naturally occurring experiences and those occasioned by the classic psychedelics psilocybin, LSD, ayahuasca, or DMT Adults reporting a single most memorable God encounter experience, either nondrug or... | 2019 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 4,285 |
| Adverse effects of ayahuasca: Results from the Global Ayahuasca Survey. Ayahuasca users from more than 50 countries who completed an online survey | 2022 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 10,836 |
| 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 |
| Indoleamine Hallucinogens in Cluster Headache: Results of the Clusterbusters Medication Use Survey People with cluster headache | 2015 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 496 |
| Assessment of Alcohol and Tobacco Use Disorders Among Religious Users of Ayahuasca Brazilian members of União do Vegetal (UDV) aged 18 and older | 2018 | Observational cross-sectional study with normative comparison | n = 1,947 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 84
- Personality, Psychopathology, Life Attitudes and Neuropsychological Performance among Ritual Users of Ayahuasca: A Longitudinal Study PLoS One August 8, 2012
- 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
- The Therapeutic Potentials of Ayahuasca: Possible Effects against Various Diseases of Civilization. Frontiers in Pharmacology March 2, 2016
- Assessment of addiction severity among ritual users of ayahuasca Drug and Alcohol Dependence June 17, 2010
- Psychedelics in Psychiatry: Neuroplastic, Immunomodulatory, and Neurotransmitter Mechanisms Pharmacological Reviews December 16, 2020
and 79 more in the library
Cites 4
- Human Psychopharmacology of Hoasca, A Plant Hallucinogen Used in Ritual Context in Brazil The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease February 1, 1996
- Platelet serotonin uptake sites increased in drinkers ofayahuasca Psychopharmacology November 1, 1994
- Ayahuasca use in cross-cultural perspective. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs June 1, 2005
- Pharmacokinetics of Hoasca alkaloids in healthy humans. Journal of Ethnopharmacology June 1, 1999