Examining Attitudes to Psilocybin: Should Candidates for Medical Psilocybin be Required to Pass a Contextual Suitability Test?
Mark Molumby, Keith Gaynor, Suzanne Guérin, Róisín Mcnamara
Journal of Humanistic Psychology August 18, 2022 DOI: 10.1177/00221678221110331 via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractPsilocybin may become a legal medicinal drug due to growing evidence of its efficacy for mental health disorders. This work tested the validity of a model of extra-pharmacological factors—set, setting, and intention—in predicting attitudes toward psilocybin. Two hundred nineteen participants completed online measures of personality and the Attitudes Toward Psilocybin scale. A model including a positive set, openness to experience, and lower extraversion significantly predicted attitudes. The findings support the model and suggest that a psychological suitability test could help determine whether psilocybin prescription is appropriate.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 219 |
| Population | Adults aged 18 to 68, including those with and without prior psychedelic use |
| Topics | LSD Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Hallucinogen Clinical psychology Openness to experience Test biology |
| Citations | 3 |
| Key finding | A model of positive set, openness to experience, and lower extraversion significantly predicted attitudes toward psilocybin. |
Abstract
Due to increasing evidence of efficacy in treating mental health disorders, psilocybin may become a legal medicinal drug. This study tested the validity of Carhart-Harris and Nutt’s (2017) model of extra-pharmacological (EP) factors. It examined whether such factors should be considered in any psychological suitability test for medicinally prescribed psilocybin. Two hundred nineteen participants (101 self-identified females, 109 males, seven nonbinary people, and two who preferred not to say), in an age range of 18 to 68 years, completed three online measures of personality— Set, Setting, and Intention—and the Attitudes Toward Psilocybin (ATP) scale. The sample was equally divided between those who had used psychedelics (52.1%) and those who had no previous psychedelic use (47.5%). A series of stepwise linear regressions were run to examine whether EP factors predicted ATP scores. The ATP scale was tested for reliability, construct validity, and determinant validity and was deemed an appropriate measure. A model consisting of a positive Set, Openness to Experience, and lower Extraversion significantly predicted ATP scores. These findings supported the EP model and suggested that a suitability test may be a useful tool when determining whether a prescription of psilocybin is an appropriate course of treatment.