Dataset Information

Validation of the Psychological Insight Scale: A new scale to assess psychological insight following a psychedelic experience.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

As their name suggests, 'psychedelic' (mind-revealing) compounds are thought to catalyse processes of psychological insight; however, few satisfactory scales exist to sample this. This study sought to develop a new scale to measure psychological insight after a psychedelic experience: the Psychological Insight Scale (PIS).

Methods

The PIS is a six- to seven-item questionnaire that enquires about psychological insight after a psychedelic experience (PIS-6) and accompanied behavioural changes (PIS item 7). In total, 886 participants took part in a study in which the PIS and other questionnaires were completed in a prospective fashion in relation to a planned psychedelic experience. For validation purposes, data from 279 participants were analysed from a non-specific 'global psychedelic survey' study.

Results

Principal components analysis of PIS scores revealed a principal component explaining 73.57% of the variance, which displayed high internal consistency at multiple timepoints throughout the study (average Cronbach's α = 0.94). Criterion validity was confirmed using the global psychedelic survey study, and convergent validity was confirmed via the Therapeutic-Realizations Scale. Furthermore, PIS scores significantly mediated the relationship between emotional breakthrough and long-term well-being.

Conclusion

The PIS is complementary to current subjective measures used in psychedelic studies, most of which are completed in relation to the acute experience. Insight - as measured by the PIS - was found to be a key mediator of long-term psychological outcomes following a psychedelic experience. Future research may investigate how insight varies throughout a psychedelic process, its underlying neurobiology and how it impacts behaviour and mental health.

SUBMITTER: Peill JM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8801624 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:Background: Recent years have seen a resurgence of research on the potential of psychedelic substances to treat addictive and mood disorders. Historically and contemporarily, psychedelic studies have emphasized the importance of contextual elements ('set and setting') in modulating acute drug effects, and ultimately, influencing long-term outcomes. Nevertheless, current small-scale clinical and laboratory studies have tended to bypass a ubiquitous contextual feature of naturalistic psychedelic use: its social dimension. This study introduces and psychometrically validates an adapted Communitas Scale, assessing acute relational experiences of perceived togetherness and shared humanity, in order to investigate psychosocial mechanisms pertinent to psychedelic ceremonies and retreats. Methods: In this observational, web-based survey study, participants (N = 886) were measured across five successive time-points: 2 weeks before, hours before, and the day after a psychedelic ceremony; as well as the day after, and 4 weeks after leaving the ceremony location. Demographics, psychological traits and state variables were assessed pre-ceremony, in addition to changes in psychological wellbeing and social connectedness from before to after the retreat, as primary outcomes. Using correlational and multiple regression (path) analyses, predictive relationships between psychosocial 'set and setting' variables, communitas, and long-term outcomes were explored. Results: The adapted Communitas Scale demonstrated substantial internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.92) and construct validity in comparison with validated measures of intra-subjective (visual, mystical, challenging experiences questionnaires) and inter-subjective (perceived emotional synchrony, identity fusion) experiences. Furthermore, communitas during ceremony was significantly correlated with increases in psychological wellbeing (r = 0.22), social connectedness (r = 0.25), and other salient mental health outcomes. Path analyses revealed that the effect of ceremony-communitas on long-term outcomes was fully mediated by communitas experienced in reference to the retreat overall, and that the extent of personal sharing or 'self-disclosure' contributed to this process. A positive relationship between participants and facilitators, and the perceived impact of emotional support, facilitated the emergence of communitas. Conclusion: Highlighting the importance of intersubjective experience, rapport, and emotional support for long-term outcomes of psychedelic use, this first quantitative examination of psychosocial factors in guided psychedelic settings is a significant step toward evidence-based benefit-maximization guidelines for collective psychedelic use.

Project description:ObjectivesNomophobia, an abbreviation of "No mobile phone phobia", is characterized by the illogical fear of being detached from the mobile phone or unable to use it. Research have provided evidence of an association between increased cellular phone use and multiple health issues, such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, and others. To our knowledge, there are no Lebanese studies about nomophobia, despite the high incorporation rate of mobile phones in Lebanon and the likelihood of suffering from anxiety, depression, and other conditions due to nomophobic attitudes. The study objectives were to validate and confirm psychometric properties of the Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q) and examine the associations between particular psychological conditions (anxiety, depression, stress, insomnia and impulsivity) and nomophobia among a representative sample of Lebanese people.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was carried out between January and July 2019. It enrolled 2260 residents of the community randomly selected from Lebanon's Mohafazat. Two villages per sub-district and households from each village were chosen using a random sampling technique. A questionnaire was distributed randomly to the households. SPSS version 25 was used to perform the statistical analysis. A multinomial regression was computed taking the nomophobia categories as the dependent variable (and taking the absence of nomophobia as the reference category) and all variables that showed a significant association in the bivariate analysis as independent variables.ResultsA total of 2260 (80.71%) out of 2800 questionnaires distributed was collected back. The mean age of the participants was 27.98 ± 9.66 years (58.8% females). Moreover, the mean nomophobia score was 71.56 ± 26.92 (median = 71; minimum = 14; maximum = 140). The results showed that 46 (2.0%) had no nomophobia, 769 (34.1%) mild nomophobia [95% CI 0.322-0.361], 1089 (48.3%) moderate nomophobia [95% CI 0.463-0.504] and 349 (15.5%) severe nomophobia [95% CI 0.140-0.170]. Items of the nomophobia scale converged over a solution of three factors that had an Eigenvalue over 1 (Factor 1 = emotions associated to losing connectedness, Factor 2 = not being able to communicate, Factor 3 = not being able to access information; total variance explained = 66.65%, and Cronbach's alpha = 0.948). The results of a multinomial regression, taking the nomophobia score as the dependent variable, showed that higher age was significantly associated with lower odds of having mild (aOR = 0.97), moderate (aOR = 0.93) and severe (aOR = 0.97) nomophobia respectively. Higher anxiety (aOR = 1.09) and higher insomnia (aOR = 1.04) were significantly associated with higher odds of having severe nomophobia.ConclusionThe results suggest a positive correlation between nomophobia and psychological conditions. There is a need for longitudinal and prospective studies that furnish information with regards of the impact of time on the variables measured, in order to better understand the nature, causes, and attributes of nomophobia.