Attitudes Towards Psilocybin: A General Population’s Opinions on Psilocybin and Psilocybin-Assisted Therapies
Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research – January 01, 2025
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
Overall attitudes towards psilocybin-assisted therapies are positive, suggesting a growing receptiveness to these innovative treatments. A survey of 235 individuals revealed that prior knowledge of psilocybin and experience with psychedelics correlated with more favorable views. This insight, crucial for Psychedelics and Drug Studies, indicates that as the therapeutic potential of compounds derived through chemical synthesis and alkaloids is further explored, public acceptance may expand. Men, Democrats, and atheists also reported more positive attitudes.
Abstract
Psilocybin-assisted therapies (PAT) have been used to treat several issues including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), major depressive disorder (MDD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), smoking addiction, and anxiety (Grob et al., 2011; Johnson et al., 2014; Kisely et a., 2022; Moreno et al., 2006). If more positive benefits of psilocybin are discovered, psilocybin could become a more mainstream treatment option. Due to this possibility, it is important to understand people’s beliefs about psilocybin and PAT. This descriptive study was conducted to understand the relationship between demographic characteristics and attitudes toward psilocybin and PAT. An anonymous Qualtrics survey was utilized to collect responses from 235 participants. Participants responded to questions regarding demographics, knowledge of psilocybin, previous experience with psychedelics, and attitudes toward PAT. Overall, attitudes towards PAT were relatively positive, but there were some notable differences among groups. Those with more positive attitudes were more likely to be men, democrats, and atheists. However, these differences may be related to sampling sources (e.g., Amazon’s Mechanical Turk). Furthermore, participants with prior knowledge of psilocybin and previous experience with psychedelics had more positive attitudes toward PAT. These findings provide relevant information on what groups may be more open to PAT.