Measuring the subjective: revisiting the psychometric properties of three rating scales that assess the acute effects of hallucinogens.

Three widely used questionnaires for assessing the subjective effects of hallucinogens—the Hallucinogen Rating Scale (HRS), the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ), and the Addiction Research Center Inventory (ARCI)—were administered to 158 subjects (100 men) after they took ayahuasca, a hallucinogen whose main active component is N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT). Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses showed that the results only sparsely matched the theoretical proposals of the original authors, possibly because previous studies did not always use psychometric methods appropriate to the data. The authors consider these findings preliminary, pending larger samples to confirm or reject the proposed structures.

Study at a glance

Abstract

In the present study we explored the psychometric properties of three widely used questionnaires to assess the subjective effects of hallucinogens: the Hallucinogen Rating Scale (HRS), the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ), and the Addiction Research Center Inventory (ARCI). These three questionnaires were administered to a sample of 158 subjects (100 men) after taking ayahuasca, a hallucinogen whose main active component is N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT). A confirmatory factorial study was conducted to check the adjustment of previous data obtained via theoretical proposals. When this was not possible, we used an exploratory factor analysis without restrictions, based on tetrachoric and polychoric matrices and correlations. Our results sparsely match the theoretical proposals of the authors, perhaps because previous studies have not always employed psychometric methods appropriate to the data obtained. However, these data should be considered preliminary, pending larger samples to confirm or reject the proposed structures obtained. It is crucial that instruments of sufficiently precise measurement are utilized to make sense of the information obtained in the study of the subjective effects of psychedelic drugs. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.