Consciousness alterations in a cohort of young Swiss men: Associations with substance use and personality traits.
Frontiers in psychiatry January 1, 2022 Marianthi Lousiana Deligianni, Joseph Studer, Gerhard Gmel et al. 1 citation
Among 2,796 young Swiss men who had used substances, 32.2% reported at least one type of substance-induced consciousness alteration: 20.5% experienced ego dissolution, 16.7% visual pseudo-hallucinations, and 14.6% anxiety or paranoia. Former and current use of psychedelics and ketamine was linked to all three types and to a positive perceived influence on life. Associations with other substances were less consistent and not statistically significant. Sociability was negatively associated with all three alterations; anxiety-neuroticism was positively associated with ego dissolution and anxiety/paranoia; aggression-hostility with anxiety/paranoia; and sensation seeking with ego dissolution and visual pseudo-hallucinations. The findings suggest psychedelics can induce consciousness alterations perceived as beneficial, even in street-drug users.