datasheet1_Psychedelic Communitas: Intersubjective Experience During Psychedelic Group Sessions Predicts Enduring Changes in Psychological Wellbeing and Social Connectedness.docx

Background: Recent years have seen a resurgence of research on the potential of psychedelic substances to treat addictive and mood disorders. Historically and contemporarily, psychedelic studies have emphasized the importance of contextual elements ('set and setting') in modulating acute drug effects, and ultimately, influencing long-term outcomes. Nevertheless, current small-scale clinical and laboratory studies have tended to bypass a ubiquitous contextual feature of naturalistic psychedelic use: its social dimension. This study introduces and psychometrically validates an adapted Communitas Scale, assessing acute relational experiences of perceived togetherness and shared humanity, in order to investigate psychosocial mechanisms pertinent to psychedelic ceremonies and retreats.Methods: In this observational, web-based survey study, participants (N = 886) were measured across five successive time-points: 2 weeks before, hours before, and the day after a psychedelic ceremony; as well as the day after, and 4 weeks after leaving the ceremony location. Demographics, psychological traits and state variables were assessed pre-ceremony, in addition to changes in psychological wellbeing and social connectedness from before to after the retreat, as primary outcomes. Using correlational and multiple regression (path) analyses, predictive relationships between psychosocial 'set and setting' variables, communitas, and long-term outcomes were explored.Results: The adapted Communitas Scale demonstrated substantial internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.92) and construct validity in comparison with validated measures of intra-subjective (visual, mystical, challenging experiences questionnaires) and inter-subjective (perceived emotional synchrony, identity fusion) experiences. Furthermore, communitas during ceremony was significantly correlated with increases in psychological wellbeing (r = 0.22), social connectedness (r = 0.25), and other salient mental health outcomes. Path analyses revealed that the effect of ceremony-communitas on long-term outcomes was fully mediated by communitas experienced in reference to the retreat overall, and that the extent of personal sharing or ‘self-disclosure’ contributed to this process. A positive relationship between participants and facilitators, and the perceived impact of emotional support, facilitated the emergence of communitas.Conclusion: Highlighting the importance of intersubjective experience, rapport, and emotional support for long-term outcomes of psychedelic use, this first quantitative examination of psychosocial factors in guided psychedelic settings is a significant step toward evidence-based benefit-maximization guidelines for collective psychedelic use.

背景：近年来，关于迷幻物质在治疗成瘾和情绪障碍方面的潜在作用的研究再次兴起。从历史到当代，迷幻物质研究都强调了情境因素（‘设置与情境’）在调节急性药物效应中的重要性，并最终影响长期结果。然而，当前的小规模临床和实验室研究往往忽略了自然istic迷幻使用的一个普遍情境特征：其社会维度。本研究引入并心理测量学验证了一种适应性的Communitas量表，评估感知到的亲密关系和共享人性的急性关系体验，以便研究与迷幻仪式和退修相关的心理社会机制。方法：在本项观察性、基于网络的调查研究中，对参与者（N = 886）在五个连续的时间点进行了测量：在迷幻仪式前两周、仪式前数小时、仪式后的当天；以及离开仪式地点后的当天和四周后。在仪式前评估人口统计学、心理特质和状态变量，并评估从退修前到退修后的心理福祉和社会联系的变化，作为主要结果。通过相关性分析和多重回归（路径）分析，探讨了心理社会‘设置与情境’变量、Communitas与长期结果之间的预测关系。结果：适应性的Communitas量表显示出显著的内部一致性（Cronbach's alpha = 0.92）以及与经过验证的主观体验（视觉、神秘、挑战性体验问卷）和主观体验（感知情绪同步、身份融合）测量之间的构念效度。此外，仪式期间的Communitas与心理福祉（r = 0.22）、社会联系（r = 0.25）和其他显著的心理健康结果的增加显著相关。路径分析揭示了仪式-Communitas对长期结果的影响完全由与退修整体相关的Communitas所中介，个人分享或‘自我披露’的程度有助于这一过程。参与者与引导者之间的积极关系以及情感支持的感知影响促进了Communitas的出现。结论：强调主观体验、亲密关系和情感支持对迷幻使用长期结果的重要性，本项首次对引导迷幻设置中的心理社会因素进行定量研究，是朝着基于证据的最大化使用迷幻物质效益指南的重要一步。