A scoping review of spirituality in relation to substance use disorders: Psychological, biological, and cultural issues.
Marc Galanter, William L White, Jag Khalsa, Helena Hansen
Journal of Addictive Diseases 2024 DOI: 10.1080/10550887.2023.2174785 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Scoping review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Addiction |
| Keywords | Alcoholics anonymous Narcotics anonymous Spirituality Culture |
| Citations | 14 |
| Key findings | Spirituality's roles in SUD span psychological, biological, and cultural domains, with identified areas needing further randomized and controlled research. |
Abstract
Spirituality is a construct encompassing a diversity of strongly held beliefs and pursuits related to life's meaning and purpose. Empirical studies in key domains of spirituality related to substance use disorder (SUD) can be valuable in guiding research, and potentially clinical care. To conduct a scoping review of research on the psychological, biological, and cultural dimensions of spirituality and their role in relation to SUD. To identify limitations in empirical findings within these domains and identify promising areas for related research. Illustrative studies available in the empirical literature are reviewed in order to characterize these three key domains. Certain areas of importance stand out: On Psychology, attribution of SUD to a spiritual outlook; spiritual awakening; the relation of spirituality to drug craving; and spirituality in the context of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. On Biology, heritability of traits related to shared spiritual experience; neurophysiologic correlates of spiritually related experiences; and correlates in brain imaging; On Culture, spiritual aspects of SUD in different cultural settings; distinctions between spiritual and religious phenomena; roles that international organizations play; and context of acquiring recovery capital. The need for further research in each area is defined. There is utility in examining the diversity of findings in the roles of psychology, biology, and culture in the SUD field. Further research, particularly applying randomization and clinical controls, would be useful in improving the effective application of the construct of spirituality in clinical care.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on addiction, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classic psychedelics: An integrative review of epidemiology, therapeutics, mystical experience, and brain network function. General population | 2019 | Integrative review | |
| Mindfulness meditation–based pain relief: a mechanistic account | 2016 | Review | |
| Psychedelics as anti-inflammatory agents Animal models and cellular studies | 2018 | Review | |
| A narrative review of yoga and mindfulness as complementary therapies for addiction. | 2013 | Review | |
| The neuropsychopharmacology of cannabis: A review of human imaging studies | 2018 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cites 8
- Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized double-blind trial Journal of Psychopharmacology November 30, 2016
- 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
- Individual Experiences in Four Cancer Patients Following Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy Frontiers in Pharmacology April 3, 2018
- The Psychedelic Debriefing in Alcohol Dependence Treatment: Illustrating Key Change Phenomena through Qualitative Content Analysis of Clinical Sessions Frontiers in Pharmacology February 21, 2018
and 3 more in the library