Report on psychoactive drug use among adolescents using ayahuasca within a religious context
This study (n=86) compared the substance consumption of adolescents within a Brazilian ayahuasca sect with adolescents who never drank ayahuasca. The authors found that the ayahuasca group was not at a higher risk of drug misuse, and that the non-ayahuasca group contained a higher proportion of alcohol users. Lifetime substance consumption, however, did not differ between the two groups.
Authors
- Charles Grob
- Draulio Silveira
- Dartiu Xavier da Silveira
Published
Abstract
Ritual use of ayahuasca within the context of the Brazilian ayahuasca churches often starts during late childhood or early adolescence. Premature access to psychoactive drugs may represent a risk factor for drug misuse. Conversely, religious affiliation seems to play a protective role in terms of substance abuse. The objective of this study was to describe patterns of drug use in a sample of adolescents using ayahuasca within a religious setting. Forty-one adolescents from a Brazilian ayahuasca sect were compared with 43 adolescents who never drank ayahuasca. No significant differences were identified in terms of lifetime substance consumption. Throughout the previous year period, ayahuasca adolescents used less alcohol (46.31%) than the comparison group (74.4%). Recent use of alcohol was also more frequent among the latter group (65.1%) than among ayahuasca drinkers (32.5%). Although not statistically significant, slight differences in terms of patterns of drug use were definitely observed among groups. Despite their early exposure to a hallucinogenic substance, adolescents using ayahuasca in a controlled setting were mostly comparable to controls except for a considerably smaller proportion of alcohol users. Religious affiliation may have played a central role as a possible protective factor for alcohol use. Thus, ayahuasca seems to be a relatively safe substance as far as drug misuse is concerned.
Research Summary of 'Report on psychoactive drug use among adolescents using ayahuasca within a religious context'
Introduction
Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic botanical brew used ceremonially in Brazilian syncretic churches such as União do Vegetal (UDV) and Santo Daime. Rituals typically last about four hours, are held roughly twice a month, and are often attended by multigenerational families; adolescents are frequently invited to join ceremonies with their parents. While some view ritualised ayahuasca use as posing little risk to young people when administered in a controlled religious setting, early exposure to psychoactive substances is generally considered a potential risk factor for later drug misuse, and empirical data on adolescent patterns of other substance use in this context have been lacking. Doering-Silveira and colleagues set out to describe patterns of psychoactive substance use in adolescents who consume ayahuasca within a religious setting, comparing them with a matched group of adolescents who had never used ayahuasca. The study aimed to clarify whether systematic ritual exposure to ayahuasca is associated with higher rates of use of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, stimulants, or other drugs, or whether religious affiliation might exert a protective effect.
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Study Details
- Study Typeindividual
- Journal
- Compound
- Topics
- Authors
- APA Citation
Doering-Silveira, E., Grob, C. S., de Rios, M. D., Lopez, E., Alonso, L. K., Tacla, C., & Da Silveira, D. X. (2005). Report on psychoactive drug use among adolescents using ayahuasca within a religious context. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 37(2), 141-144. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2005.10399794
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