Lifetime use of psychedelics is associated with better mental health indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic

Autores
Cavanna, Federico Amadeo; Pallavicini, Carla; Milano, Virginia; Cuiule, Juan; Di Tella, Rocco; González, Pablo; Tagliazucchi, Enzo Rodolfo
Año de publicación
2021
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
Background and aimsThe COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences represent a major challenge to the mental health and well-being of the general population. Building on previous work on the potential long-term benefits of psychedelics, we hypothesized that lifetime use of these drugs could be linked to better mental health indicators in the context of the ongoing pandemic.MethodsTwo anonymous online surveys were conducted between April and June 2020, including questions about lifetime experience with psychedelics and other psychoactive drugs, and psychometric scales designed to measure personality traits, anxiety, negative, and positive affect, well-being, and resilience. Principal component analysis was applied to divide the sample into groups of subjects based on their drug use reports.ResultsFive thousand six hundred eighteen participants (29.15 ± 0.12 years, 71.97% female) completed both surveys and met the inclusion criteria, with 32.43% of the sample reporting at least one use of a psychedelic drug. Preliminary analyses showed that certain psychedelics were linked to improved mental health indicators, while other psychoactive drugs exhibited the opposite behavior. Lifetime psychedelic use was linked to increased openness and decreased conscientiousness, and to higher scores of positive affect. The reported number of past psychedelic experiences predicted higher scores of the secondary personality trait beta factor, which has been interpreted as a measure of plasticity. No significant associations between lifetime use of psychedelics and indicators of impaired mental health were observed.ConclusionWe did not find evidence of an association between lifetime use of psychedelics and poor mental health indicators. Conversely, experience with psychedelic drugs was linked to increased positive affect and to personality traits that favor resilience and stability in the light of the ongoing crisis.
Fil: Cavanna, Federico Amadeo. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentina
Fil: Pallavicini, Carla. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentina
Fil: Milano, Virginia. No especifíca;
Fil: Cuiule, Juan. No especifíca;
Fil: Di Tella, Rocco. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentina
Fil: González, Pablo. No especifíca;
Fil: Tagliazucchi, Enzo Rodolfo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad Adolfo Ibañez; Chile
Materia
COVID
PSYCHEDELICS
MENTAL HEALTH
DRUG USE
COVID-19
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ar/
Repositorio
CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Institución
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
OAI Identificador
oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/143480
Acceder
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repository_id_str 3498
network_name_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
spelling Lifetime use of psychedelics is associated with better mental health indicators during the COVID-19 pandemicCavanna, Federico AmadeoPallavicini, CarlaMilano, VirginiaCuiule, JuanDi Tella, RoccoGonzález, PabloTagliazucchi, Enzo RodolfoCOVIDPSYCHEDELICSMENTAL HEALTHDRUG USECOVID-19https://purl.org/becyt/ford/3.3https://purl.org/becyt/ford/3Background and aimsThe COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences represent a major challenge to the mental health and well-being of the general population. Building on previous work on the potential long-term benefits of psychedelics, we hypothesized that lifetime use of these drugs could be linked to better mental health indicators in the context of the ongoing pandemic.MethodsTwo anonymous online surveys were conducted between April and June 2020, including questions about lifetime experience with psychedelics and other psychoactive drugs, and psychometric scales designed to measure personality traits, anxiety, negative, and positive affect, well-being, and resilience. Principal component analysis was applied to divide the sample into groups of subjects based on their drug use reports.ResultsFive thousand six hundred eighteen participants (29.15 ± 0.12 years, 71.97% female) completed both surveys and met the inclusion criteria, with 32.43% of the sample reporting at least one use of a psychedelic drug. Preliminary analyses showed that certain psychedelics were linked to improved mental health indicators, while other psychoactive drugs exhibited the opposite behavior. Lifetime psychedelic use was linked to increased openness and decreased conscientiousness, and to higher scores of positive affect. The reported number of past psychedelic experiences predicted higher scores of the secondary personality trait beta factor, which has been interpreted as a measure of plasticity. No significant associations between lifetime use of psychedelics and indicators of impaired mental health were observed.ConclusionWe did not find evidence of an association between lifetime use of psychedelics and poor mental health indicators. Conversely, experience with psychedelic drugs was linked to increased positive affect and to personality traits that favor resilience and stability in the light of the ongoing crisis.Fil: Cavanna, Federico Amadeo. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Pallavicini, Carla. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; ArgentinaFil: Milano, Virginia. No especifíca;Fil: Cuiule, Juan. No especifíca;Fil: Di Tella, Rocco. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: González, Pablo. No especifíca;Fil: Tagliazucchi, Enzo Rodolfo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad Adolfo Ibañez; ChileAKJournals2021-05-04info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/11336/143480Cavanna, Federico Amadeo; Pallavicini, Carla; Milano, Virginia; Cuiule, Juan; Di Tella, Rocco; et al.; Lifetime use of psychedelics is associated with better mental health indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic; AKJournals; Journal of Psychedelic Studies; 2021; 4-5-2021; 1-112559-9283CONICET DigitalCONICETenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/https://akjournals.com/view/journals/2054/aop/article-10.1556-2054.2021.00172/article-10.1556-2054.2021.00172.xmlinfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1556/2054.2021.00172info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ar/reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas2025-09-29T10:46:41Zoai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/143480instacron:CONICETInstitucionalhttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/oai/requestdasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:34982025-09-29 10:46:41.933CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicasfalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Lifetime use of psychedelics is associated with better mental health indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic
title Lifetime use of psychedelics is associated with better mental health indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic
spellingShingle Lifetime use of psychedelics is associated with better mental health indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic
Cavanna, Federico Amadeo
COVID
PSYCHEDELICS
MENTAL HEALTH
DRUG USE
COVID-19
title_short Lifetime use of psychedelics is associated with better mental health indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_full Lifetime use of psychedelics is associated with better mental health indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_fullStr Lifetime use of psychedelics is associated with better mental health indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_full_unstemmed Lifetime use of psychedelics is associated with better mental health indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_sort Lifetime use of psychedelics is associated with better mental health indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Cavanna, Federico Amadeo
Pallavicini, Carla
Milano, Virginia
Cuiule, Juan
Di Tella, Rocco
González, Pablo
Tagliazucchi, Enzo Rodolfo
author Cavanna, Federico Amadeo
author_facet Cavanna, Federico Amadeo
Pallavicini, Carla
Milano, Virginia
Cuiule, Juan
Di Tella, Rocco
González, Pablo
Tagliazucchi, Enzo Rodolfo
author_role author
author2 Pallavicini, Carla
Milano, Virginia
Cuiule, Juan
Di Tella, Rocco
González, Pablo
Tagliazucchi, Enzo Rodolfo
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv COVID
PSYCHEDELICS
MENTAL HEALTH
DRUG USE
COVID-19
topic COVID
PSYCHEDELICS
MENTAL HEALTH
DRUG USE
COVID-19
purl_subject.fl_str_mv https://purl.org/becyt/ford/3.3
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/3
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv Background and aimsThe COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences represent a major challenge to the mental health and well-being of the general population. Building on previous work on the potential long-term benefits of psychedelics, we hypothesized that lifetime use of these drugs could be linked to better mental health indicators in the context of the ongoing pandemic.MethodsTwo anonymous online surveys were conducted between April and June 2020, including questions about lifetime experience with psychedelics and other psychoactive drugs, and psychometric scales designed to measure personality traits, anxiety, negative, and positive affect, well-being, and resilience. Principal component analysis was applied to divide the sample into groups of subjects based on their drug use reports.ResultsFive thousand six hundred eighteen participants (29.15 ± 0.12 years, 71.97% female) completed both surveys and met the inclusion criteria, with 32.43% of the sample reporting at least one use of a psychedelic drug. Preliminary analyses showed that certain psychedelics were linked to improved mental health indicators, while other psychoactive drugs exhibited the opposite behavior. Lifetime psychedelic use was linked to increased openness and decreased conscientiousness, and to higher scores of positive affect. The reported number of past psychedelic experiences predicted higher scores of the secondary personality trait beta factor, which has been interpreted as a measure of plasticity. No significant associations between lifetime use of psychedelics and indicators of impaired mental health were observed.ConclusionWe did not find evidence of an association between lifetime use of psychedelics and poor mental health indicators. Conversely, experience with psychedelic drugs was linked to increased positive affect and to personality traits that favor resilience and stability in the light of the ongoing crisis.
Fil: Cavanna, Federico Amadeo. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentina
Fil: Pallavicini, Carla. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentina
Fil: Milano, Virginia. No especifíca;
Fil: Cuiule, Juan. No especifíca;
Fil: Di Tella, Rocco. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentina
Fil: González, Pablo. No especifíca;
Fil: Tagliazucchi, Enzo Rodolfo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad Adolfo Ibañez; Chile
description Background and aimsThe COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences represent a major challenge to the mental health and well-being of the general population. Building on previous work on the potential long-term benefits of psychedelics, we hypothesized that lifetime use of these drugs could be linked to better mental health indicators in the context of the ongoing pandemic.MethodsTwo anonymous online surveys were conducted between April and June 2020, including questions about lifetime experience with psychedelics and other psychoactive drugs, and psychometric scales designed to measure personality traits, anxiety, negative, and positive affect, well-being, and resilience. Principal component analysis was applied to divide the sample into groups of subjects based on their drug use reports.ResultsFive thousand six hundred eighteen participants (29.15 ± 0.12 years, 71.97% female) completed both surveys and met the inclusion criteria, with 32.43% of the sample reporting at least one use of a psychedelic drug. Preliminary analyses showed that certain psychedelics were linked to improved mental health indicators, while other psychoactive drugs exhibited the opposite behavior. Lifetime psychedelic use was linked to increased openness and decreased conscientiousness, and to higher scores of positive affect. The reported number of past psychedelic experiences predicted higher scores of the secondary personality trait beta factor, which has been interpreted as a measure of plasticity. No significant associations between lifetime use of psychedelics and indicators of impaired mental health were observed.ConclusionWe did not find evidence of an association between lifetime use of psychedelics and poor mental health indicators. Conversely, experience with psychedelic drugs was linked to increased positive affect and to personality traits that favor resilience and stability in the light of the ongoing crisis.
publishDate 2021
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2021-05-04
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/11336/143480
Cavanna, Federico Amadeo; Pallavicini, Carla; Milano, Virginia; Cuiule, Juan; Di Tella, Rocco; et al.; Lifetime use of psychedelics is associated with better mental health indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic; AKJournals; Journal of Psychedelic Studies; 2021; 4-5-2021; 1-11
2559-9283
CONICET Digital
CONICET
url http://hdl.handle.net/11336/143480
identifier_str_mv Cavanna, Federico Amadeo; Pallavicini, Carla; Milano, Virginia; Cuiule, Juan; Di Tella, Rocco; et al.; Lifetime use of psychedelics is associated with better mental health indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic; AKJournals; Journal of Psychedelic Studies; 2021; 4-5-2021; 1-11
2559-9283
CONICET Digital
CONICET
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
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info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1556/2054.2021.00172
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ar/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ar/
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv AKJournals
publisher.none.fl_str_mv AKJournals
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
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reponame_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
collection CONICET Digital (CONICET)
instname_str Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.name.fl_str_mv CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.mail.fl_str_mv dasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.ar
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