Translation and Initial Psychometric Evaluation of Spanish Versions of Three Psychedelic Acute Effects Measures: Mystical, Challenging, and Insight Experiences
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs – July 14, 2023
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
Reliable tools now exist for Spanish-speaking populations to explore the psychological impact of psychedelics like Psilocybin. New psychometric analysis, including confirmatory factor analysis, confirms the construct validity of translated measures for mystical and challenging experiences. Administered to 442 Spanish-speakers (71.5% male; 91.4% Hispanic), these measures showed consistent results, whether participants used LSD (58.4%) or Psilocybin (41.6%). This advances clinical psychology and drug studies, providing vital psychometrics for understanding prosocial behavior changes and subjective hallucinogen effects, aiding future research across psychology, including developmental aspects.
Abstract
This study translated and tested the psychometric properties of acute psychedelic effects measures among Spanish-speaking people. The Psychological Insight Questionnaire (PIQ), Challenging Experiences Questionnaire (CEQ), and Mystical Experiences Questionnaire (MEQ) were translated before being incorporated into a web-based survey. We recruited native Spanish-speakers (N = 442; Mage = 30.8, SD = 10.9; Latino/Latina = 62%; Hispanic = 91.4%; male = 71.5%) to assess their previous experience with one of two psychedelics (LSD = 58.4%; Psilocybin = 41.6%) and their acute and enduring effects. Confirmatory factor analysis (confirming factor structure based on the English version) revealed a good fit for the MEQ, PIQ and the CEQ. Repeating our analysis in each drug subsample revealed consistency in factor structure for each assessment tool. Construct validity was supported by significant positive associations between the PIQ and MEQ, and between the PIQ and MEQ and changes in cognitive fusion and negative associations between changes in prosocial behaviors. As a signal of predictive validity, persisting effects (PEQ) were strongly related to scores on the MEQ and PIQ. Findings demonstrate that the Spanish versions of these measures can be reliably employed in studies of psychedelic use or administration in Spanish-speaking populations.