Voice of the Psychonauts: Coping, Life Purpose, and Spirituality in Psychedelic Drug Users
Levente Móró, Katalin Simon, Imre Bárd, József Rácz
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs July 1, 2011 DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2011.605661 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Qualitative Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 667 |
| Population | Psychedelic drug users, other drug users, and drug nonusers |
| Topics | Mescaline Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Spirituality Coping psychology Clinical psychology Psychotherapist Psychoactive drug Hallucinogen |
| Citations | 138 |
| Key findings | Using psychedelic drugs to enhance self-knowledge is associated with fewer drug-related problems and higher coping and spirituality scores. |
Abstract
Psychoactive drug use shows great diversity, but due to a disproportionate focus on problematic drug use, predominant nonproblematic drug use remains an understudied phenomenon. Historic and anecdotal evidence shows that natural sources of "psychedelic" drugs (e.g., mescaline and psilocybin) have been used in religious and spiritual settings for centuries, as well as for psychological self-enhancement purposes. Our study assessed a total of 667 psychedelic drug users, other drug users, and drug nonusers by online questionnaires. Coping, life purpose, and spirituality were measured with the Psychological Immune Competence Inventory, the Purpose in Life test, and the Intrinsic Spirituality Scale, respectively. Results indicate that the use of psychedelic drugs with a purpose to enhance self-knowledge is less associated with problems, and correlates positively with coping and spirituality. Albeit the meaning of "spirituality" may be ambiguous, it seems that a spiritually-inclined attitude in drug use may act as a protective factor against drug-related problems. The autognostic use of psychedelic drugs may be thus hypothesized as a "training situation" that promotes self-enhancement by rehearsing personal coping strategies and by gaining self-knowledge. However, to assess the actual efficiency and the speculated long-term benefits of these deliberately provoked exceptional experiences, further qualitative investigations are needed.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on mescaline, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychedelics and Mental Health: A Population Study Adult population in the United States | 2013 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 130,152 |
| Lifetime experience with (classic) psychedelics predicts pro-environmental behavior through an increase in nature relatedness General population online sample | 2017 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 1,487 |
| Naturalistic Use of Mescaline Is Associated with Self-Reported Psychiatric Improvements and Enduring Positive Life Changes. Adults reporting use of mescaline in naturalistic settings | 2021 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 452 |
| Acute Adverse Reactions to Lsd in Clinical and Experimental use in the United Kingdom Subjects in LSD or mescaline sessions | 1971 | Survey | n = 5,000 |
| Increasing Use of “Ecstasy“ (MDMA) and other Hallucinogens on a College Campus Undergraduate students at a private southern university | 1994 | Random survey |
Citations in the library
Cited by 61
- Factor Analysis of the Mystical Experience Questionnaire: A Study of Experiences Occasioned by the Hallucinogen Psilocybin Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion December 1, 2012
- Classic psychedelic use is associated with reduced psychological distress and suicidality in the United States adult population. Journal of Psychopharmacology March 1, 2015
- Making "bad trips" good: How users of psychedelics narratively transform challenging trips into valuable experiences. International Journal of Drug Policy 2021
- Dose-related effects of salvinorin A in humans: dissociative, hallucinogenic, and memory effects. Psychopharmacology March 1, 2013
- Microdosing psychedelics: Motivations, subjective effects and harm reduction International Journal of Drug Policy November 25, 2019
and 56 more in the library
Cites 12
- Human hallucinogen research: guidelines for safety. Journal of Psychopharmacology July 1, 2008
- Mystical-type experiences occasioned by psilocybin mediate the attribution of personal meaning and spiritual significance 14 months later Journal of Psychopharmacology May 30, 2008
- The pharmacology of psilocybin Addiction Biology October 1, 2002
- The Pharmacology of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide: A Review CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics November 11, 2008
- ADVERSE REACTIONS TO PSYCHEDELIC DRUGS. A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease October 1, 1984
and 7 more in the library