Reduced death anxiety as a mediator of the relationship between acute subjective effects of psychedelics and improved subjective well-being
This survey study (n=201) finds that reductions in death anxiety mediated the effects of the (acute) mystical experience on life satisfaction. Death anxiety did not mediate any of the effects of psychological insight.
Abstract
Research over the past several decades suggests that meaningful psychedelic experiences can engender long-term effects on subjective wellbeing. However, less research has investigated the psychological mechanisms through which these effects may emerge. In the present study, participants (N = 201) completed an online survey that retrospectively measured the acute effects of a meaningful psychedelic experience, as well as changes in subjective well-being and death anxiety. Reductions in death anxiety significantly mediated the effects of mystical experience on satisfaction with life, positive affect, and negative affect. Reductions in death anxiety did not mediate any of the effects of psychological insight. Although correlational, the findings are consistent with the hypothesis that some of the benefits of psychedelic-induced mystical experiences on subjective well-being may emerge due to reductions in death anxiety. Nevertheless, further research is needed to establish a causal effect of reduced death anxiety on well-being in the context of psychedelic experiences.
Research Summary of 'Reduced death anxiety as a mediator of the relationship between acute subjective effects of psychedelics and improved subjective well-being'
Introduction
Over the past two decades there has been renewed interest in the therapeutic potential of serotonergic psychedelics, yet the psychological mechanisms linking acute subjective effects to longer-term benefits remain poorly understood. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a common and debilitating condition (lifetime prevalence around 2%) that is only partially responsive to existing treatments, and preliminary case reports and small trials have suggested that psychedelics may sometimes reduce OCD symptoms. Parallel lines of research indicate that psychedelics can occasion strong subjective states such as mystical experiences and acute psychological insights, and can produce longer-lasting changes in constructs such as meaning in life, connectedness, and attitudes to death. Moreton and colleagues designed the present study to test whether reductions in death anxiety and changes in obsessive beliefs might help explain associations between acute psychedelic effects and self-reported reductions in obsessions and compulsions. The study tested four preregistered hypotheses: that mystical and insight experiences would be associated with reductions in OCD symptoms (H1); that these acute effects would predict reductions in death anxiety and obsessive beliefs (H2); that reductions in those mediators would be correlated with OCD symptom changes (H3); and that death anxiety and obsessive beliefs would mediate the relationship between acute psychedelic effects and reductions in obsessions and compulsions (H4).
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Study Details
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Moreton, S. G., Arena, A. F. A., Foy, Y., & Menzies, R. E. (2023). Reduced death anxiety as a mediator of the relationship between acute subjective effects of psychedelics and improved subjective well-being. Death Studies, 47(10), 1115-1126. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2023.2169848
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