A Qualitative Study on the Effects of Psychoactive Substance use upon Artistic Creativity.
Fruzsina Iszáj, Bea Ehmann, Mark D Griffiths, Zsolt Demetrovics
Substance Use & Misuse July 3, 2018 DOI: 10.1080/10826084.2017.1404103 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 72 |
| Population | Artists |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Keywords | Creativity Alcohol Artist Music Psychoactive substance use |
| Key findings | Artists reported using both alcohol and cannabis to facilitate creativity and the emotional states needed for the artistic creative process. Control-group participants reported that listening to music might function as a mind-altering tool, and some artists described substance use as part of everyday life. Which substance or environmental stimulus is used appears to depend on the individual. |
Abstract
Psychoactive substance use has often been claimed to help generate and facilitate the artistic creative process. This study explored the role of artists' substance use in their creative processes and their efforts to balance between enhancement and relaxation. Semistructured interviews concerning the artistic creative process and the role of psychoactive substance use were recorded with 72 artists and analyzed using content analysis. The participants were classified according to their substance use in three groups (Cannabis Group, Alcohol Group, and Control Group). Results show that both alcohol and cannabis were used to facilitate creativity and the emotional states that are necessary for the artistic creative process. Participants in the Control group reported that listening to music might function as a mind-altering tool. It was also found that for some artists, substance use is not only characteristic to creation, but it is also part of their everyday lives. Artists are aware of the balancing phenomenon during the artistic creative process. Whether psychoactive substance(s) or other environmental stimuli (such as music) are used to reach the required effect appears to depend upon the individual.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on cannabis, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychoactive substances as a last resort—a qualitative study of self-treatment of migraine and cluster headaches Users of online forums discussing cluster headache and migraine treatments | 2017 | Qualitative thematic analysis | |
| Psychoactive drug or mystical incense? Overview of the online available information on Spice products Web pages related to Spice products | 2009 | Qualitative study | n = 200 |
| Patterns, Trends, and Meanings of Drug Use by Dance-drug Users in Edinburgh, Scotland Clubbers in clubs and pre-club bars | 2004 | Cross-sectional survey with focus groups | n = 124 |
| Fascination and Social Togetherness-Discussions about Spice Smoking on a Swedish Internet Forum. Swedish internet forum users who posted reports about Spice intoxication | 2013 | Qualitative study | n = 40 |
| Cannabis as entheogen: survey and interview data on the spiritual use of cannabis. Participants recruited from seven online communities, median age 33, 81% male | 2020 | Mixed methods (qualitative interviews and quantitative survey) | n = 319 |