Race and ethnicity moderate the associations between lifetime psychedelic use (MDMA and psilocybin) and psychological distress and suicidality.
Grant M. Jones, Matthew K. Nock
Scientific reports October 10, 2022 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-18645-3 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractLifetime use of MDMA or psilocybin is associated with lower odds of psychological distress and suicidality among White individuals, but these protective associations are far fewer for racial and ethnic minorities. Analyzing data from over 484,000 participants in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2008–2019), race and ethnicity significantly moderated the links between psychedelic use and mental health outcomes. The findings highlight the need for further research on how identity factors such as race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and sexual/gender minority status influence the effects of psychedelic substances.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 484,732 |
| Population | US general population respondents to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2008-2019) |
| Keywords | Psychedelics Mental health Racial disparities Clinical research Substance use |
| Citations | 46 |
| Key finding | Race and ethnicity significantly moderated the associations between MDMA and psilocybin use and psychological distress and suicidality, with protective associations observed for White participants but far fewer for racial and ethnic minority participants. |
Abstract
Psychedelic compounds have been linked to salutary mental health outcomes in both naturalistic and clinical settings; however, current research on psychedelics suffers from a lack of inclusion and focus on racial and ethnic minorities. Thus, the goal of our study was to assess whether race and ethnicity moderate the associations that naturalistic lifetime MDMA (3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine) use and psilocybin use share with past month psychological distress and past year suicidality (ideation and planning). Using data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) (2008-2019) (N = 484,732), we conducted survey-weighted multivariable logistic regression to conduct interaction tests and to assess the associations that MDMA use and psilocybin use share with the aforementioned outcomes for each racial and ethnic group. Race and ethnicity significantly moderated the associations between MDMA and psilocybin use and psychological distress and suicidality. For White participants, MDMA and psilocybin use conferred lowered odds of all distress and suicidality outcomes. For racial and ethnic minority participants, the associations between psychedelic use and suicidality were far fewer. These findings invite further research into the impact of race, ethnicity, and other identity factors (e.g., socioeconomic status, sexual/gender minority status) on the effects of psychedelic substances.