Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
January 2, 2025
Petri Kajonius, David Sjöström, Emma Claesdotter‐knutsson
5 citations
A majority of Swedish psychedelic users rank their experience among the most meaningful events of their lives: 58% placed it among the top 5 most meaningful, and 85% among the top 10. Most participants (94%) reported positive life improvements, and factors like a personal growth motive and supportive social networks were linked to better well-being. The findings align with previous international research, though the study's self-selected sample, self-reported measures, and cross-sectional design limit generalizability.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
November 24, 2025
Petri J. Kajonius, David Sjöström, Emma Claesdotter-Knutsson
3 citations
Most people who have had a psychedelic experience rank it among the most meaningful events in their lives, and personality traits shape how the experience unfolds. In a survey of 400 experienced users, those higher in openness reported more mystical and positive aspects, while those higher in neuroticism reported more challenging and negative aspects. The findings suggest that individual differences in personality influence both the quality and lasting impact of psychedelic experiences, and future research should measure and control for these traits.
December 31, 2023
Petri Kajonius, David Sjöström
1 citation
preprint
Most users rate a psychedelic experience as among the most meaningful events in their lives. In a survey of Swedish psychedelic users, 58% ranked the experience among the top 5 most meaningful events, 85% among the top 10, and 94% reported that it improved their life. Experiences were often challenging, and 4.5% reported negative effects. Factors such as high openness to experience, a personal growth motive, and support from family and friends were associated with more positive outcomes. The authors caution that self-report and cross-sectional design limit certainty about the impact of psychedelics on well-being.
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
March 18, 2026
Jonathan Bendz, Linus Schäfer, David Sjöström et al.
People who are enthusiastic about psychedelics report greater improvements in quality of life from their experiences compared to a general population sample, even after accounting for differences in mindset, setting, motivation, and personality. The study surveyed 1,182 participants (583 enthusiasts and 599 general population) with prior psychedelic use. Enthusiasts scored higher on openness, extraversion, and agreeableness, had more favorable mindsets and settings, and were more motivated by personal growth. Sample membership was the strongest predictor of reported quality-of-life impact, followed by setting, motivation, openness, and mindset. These results clarify how recruiting enthusiasts can inflate reported benefits and highlight the need for representative sampling in psychedelic research.
Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health
February 24, 2026
David Sjöström, Emma Claesdotter-Knutsson, Petri Kajonius
Adolescents aged 18–24 who use classical psychedelics report more adverse outcomes—including confusion, fear, and negative personality change—than adults aged 25 and older, even after accounting for personality traits. Positive effects such as meaningfulness, mystical-type experiences, and relationship improvements do not differ between age groups. Neuroticism explains more of the variation in adverse outcomes than age does. The findings suggest that while adolescents may gain similar positive benefits from psychedelics as adults, they may be more vulnerable to negative effects, highlighting the need for further longitudinal research on developmental stage and individual differences.