Longitudinal and transcultural assessment of the relationship between hallucinogens, well-being, and post-traumatic growth during the COVID-19 pandemic
In a longitudinal, multilingual online study begun during the COVID‑19 peak, regular users of hallucinogens reported higher psychological well‑being, lower psychopathology and greater post‑traumatic growth (even among those with higher distress) than non‑users. Findings were culturally heterogeneous — with more English‑speaking regular users — suggesting further research on hallucinogens’ role in large‑scale catastrophes.
Authors
- Jamie Hallak
- Rafael dos Santos
- Gonzalo Ona
Published
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the health and wellbeing of the global population. This paper presents the results of a longitudinal transcultural study that was begun at the peak of the pandemic (in April, 2020). An online survey was used to collect data from English-, Spanish-, and Portuguese-speaking participants. The survey collected information about sociodemographics, lifestyle activities, COVID-19-related circumstances, and drug use (with an emphasis on hallucinogenic drugs), as well as involving psychometric questionnaires. Users of hallucinogenic drugs had higher psychological well-being and lower scores on psychopathology scales, both at baseline and during follow-ups. This difference was larger when users were distinguished by frequency of use, as regular users scored higher on psychological well-being and lower on psychopathology scales. Subjects with more psychological distress had lower scores for all scales of post-traumatic growth, but if they were regular hallucinogens users, they had higher scores for post-traumatic growth. When comparing the results between cultural contexts, heterogeneous results were obtained. There were more English-speaking regular users of hallucinogenic drugs. Further research should analyse the potential role of hallucinogens in large-scale catastrophes, with a special focus on post-traumatic growth.
Research Summary of 'Longitudinal and transcultural assessment of the relationship between hallucinogens, well-being, and post-traumatic growth during the COVID-19 pandemic'
Introduction
The authors situate the study in the context of widespread mental-health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, noting increases in anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress and general distress observed internationally during 2020. They describe a concurrent resurgence of scientific interest in classical hallucinogens (for example psilocybin and MDMA) as potential treatments for mood, anxiety and trauma-related disorders, and identify an evidence gap about how lifetime or regular use of hallucinogens relates to psychological wellbeing and post-traumatic growth (PTG) in the population-level, real-world context of a major global stressor. A. and colleagues therefore set out to examine longitudinal relationships between hallucinogenic drug use, mental-health measures (psychological distress and psychopathology), peritraumatic stress and PTG during the pandemic. They implemented a transcultural online survey (English, Spanish and Portuguese) launched at the peak of early lockdowns in April 2020, with follow-ups at approximately two and six months, to assess whether lifetime and/or regular use of hallucinogens was associated with differences in wellbeing, symptom scores and PTG over time across culturally diverse respondents.
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Study Details
- Study Typeindividual
- Journal
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- APA Citation
Bouso, J. C., Révész, D., Ona, G., Rossi, G. N., Rocha, J. M., dos Santos, R. G., Hallak, J. E. C., & Alcázar-Corcoles, M. Á. (2023). Longitudinal and transcultural assessment of the relationship between hallucinogens, well-being, and post-traumatic growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scientific Reports, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-41199-x
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