Journal of psychoactive drugs
January 10, 2025
Ana Cláudia Mesquita Garcia, Lucas Oliveira Maia, Everson Meireles et al.
8 citations
A survey of 517 Brazilian adults found that people who never or almost never used psychedelics reported higher death anxiety than those who had used them. The study also validated the Death Anxiety Scale in Brazil. Death transcendence—especially creative and religious forms—consistently explained variations in death anxiety across all models. A negative relationship emerged between death anxiety and mystical and religious factors of death transcendence. The authors interpret that psychedelics themselves do not directly reduce death anxiety; rather, they may facilitate experiences of transcending death—the sense of continuity beyond physical death, whether spiritual or symbolic—which in turn helps lower death anxiety.
Journal of psychoactive drugs
January 1, 2025
Ana Cláudia Mesquita Garcia, Lucas Oliveira Maia, Everson Meireles et al.
3 citations
The Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS) is a valid and reliable tool for Brazilian samples, measuring two factors: religious well-being (RWB) and existential well-being (EWB). The RWB factor showed superior psychometric performance, including better group differentiation and internal consistency. A U-shaped association emerged between psychedelic use and spiritual well-being: people who never used psychedelics reported the highest RWB and EWB scores, followed by frequent users, while occasional users scored lower. This pattern highlights the need for more research on the complex relationship between psychedelics and spiritual well-being.
Journal of psychoactive drugs
May 19, 2026
Ana Cláudia Mesquita Garcia, Lucas Oliveira Maia, Everson Meireles et al.
A Brazilian Portuguese version of the Psychedelic Integration Scales (PIS-BR) was validated in a cross-sectional online survey of 1,379 participants. The scale showed a unidimensional structure, high internal consistency (α = 0.95), and strong associations with mystical experience (r = 0.636) and positivity (r = 0.352). Qualitative analysis of open-ended responses revealed diverse integration strategies such as personal reflection, psychotherapy, spiritual practices, connection with nature, social sharing, and personal transformation, alongside reported difficulties. The findings support the PIS-BR as a valid measure for studying psychedelic integration in Brazil and highlight cultural variability in integration processes beyond acute drug effects.
Journal of religion and health
March 31, 2026
Ana Cláudia Mesquita Garcia, Everson Meireles, Eliza Mara Das Chagas Paiva et al.
A Brazilian Portuguese version of the Mystical Orientation Scale Revised (MOSR-BR) was developed and tested in 505 Brazilian adults. The scale showed a single underlying factor explaining 47.6% of the variance, with very high internal consistency. Higher mystical orientation scores correlated with greater death transcendence and with religious and existential well-being. People who used psychedelic substances occasionally or frequently scored higher on mystical orientation than non-users. The authors note the study is exploratory and limited by its cross-sectional design, non-random sampling, and lack of confirmatory factor analysis or test-retest reliability.