The Acceptance/Avoidance-Promoting Experiences Questionnaire (APEQ): A theory-based approach to psychedelic drugs’ effects on psychological flexibility
Journal of Psychopharmacology March 1, 2022 Max Wolff, Lea J. Mertens, Marie Walter et al. 57 citations
Psychedelic experiences can promote either acceptance or avoidance, and these two tendencies are relatively independent—they can alternate but do not occur simultaneously. A bilingual online survey of 997 English- and 836 German-speaking participants who used LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, or ayahuasca found that acceptance-related experiences and avoidance-related experiences were distinct and not strongly correlated. Subaspects within each type were closely linked. Therapeutic, escapist, and hedonic motives for use related differently to acceptance and avoidance, and these experiences were associated with later changes in psychological flexibility. The link between acceptance and increased flexibility was weaker when avoidance was high, suggesting an interplay between the two.