Prior LSD Use Linked to Lower Psychological Resilience – Neuroscience News

Summary: Lifetime LSD use is linked to higher severe psychological distress after job loss, a new study reveals. Analyzing data from 15,854 adults, researchers found those with prior LSD use were 1.6-1.7 times more likely to report severe distress.

The study suggests LSD does not confer resilience to stress from job loss. These findings challenge previous claims about the psychological benefits of psychedelic use.

Key Facts:

1. Increased Distress: Prior LSD users are 1.6-1.7 times more likely to experience severe psychological distress after job loss.
2. Large Data Set: The study analyzed data from 15,854 adults from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
3. Challenge to Previous Claims: Results suggest LSD use does not enhance resilience to stress, contradicting earlier studies.

Source: PLOS

Lifetime LSD use is associated with a higher likelihood of severe psychological distress after losing one’s job, according to a new study published this week in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Benjamin Korman, formerly of the University of Konstanz, Germany.

Previous studies have found that people who use psychedelics such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) score higher than non-users on scales of favorable psychological traits. However, whether this translates to better resilience during stressful life events has been unclear.

The new work used publicly available data from the 2008-2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health on the United States civilian, non-institutionalized population. Dr. Korman analyzed data from 15,854 adults who had been employed within the past year but, at the time of the survey, were unemployed and searching for work.

520 respondents included in the analysis reported having used LSD prior to their job loss. These individuals were roughly 1.6 to 1.7 times more likely to report subsequent severe psychological distress within the past month compared to those who did not report such LSD use.

Similarly, prior LSD use was associated with greater symptoms of (non-severe) psychological distress within the past month. These associations held true even after controlling for sociodemographic variables.

Dr. Korman says that the current study failed to find evidence that LSD grants users psychological resilience to future stressors. However, he also notes that the study could not control for the timing between LSD use and job loss.

In addition, the results cannot be extrapolated to draw conclusions about other types of psychedelics, other types of life stressors, or the clinical use of LSD.

Dr. Korman adds: “This study brings into question previous findings linking classic psychedelic use to psychological strengths and resilience by demonstrating that prior use of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is associated with greater psychological distress following later job loss.”

Funding: This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG-German Research Foundation) under Germany’s Excellence Strategy (Grant Number EXC2035/1-390681379). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

About this psychedelics and resilience research news

Author: Hanna Abdallah
Source: PLOS
Contact: Hanna Abdallah – PLOS
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

Original Research: Open access.
“Does LSD confer lasting psychological resilience? an investigation of naturalistic users experiencing job loss” by Benjamin A. Korman et al. PLoS ONE

Abstract

Does LSD confer lasting psychological resilience? an investigation of naturalistic users experiencing job loss

Recent studies on classic psychedelics have suggested that their use is associated with psychological strengths and resilience, thereby conferring users a type of psychological protection relative to non-users.

However, this idea has been brought into question by recent findings suggesting that lifetime users of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) report worse mental health during stressful experiences.

The current study addresses these mixed findings by examining whether LSD use prior to a stressful experience buffers against the psychological distress experienced in the wake of the stressful experience. This study draws on openly-available data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2008–2019) on 5,067,553 (weighted) unemployed, job seeking individuals experiencing job loss.

Using purposeful respondent exclusion criteria to establish temporal precedence of the variables under investigation, this study offers a straightforward test of whether LSD use confers psychological resilience to naturalistic users.

LSD use prior to job loss was associated with a higher likelihood of severe psychological distress following job loss, regardless of whether sociodemographic variables were controlled for or not.

In sum, this study fails to find evidence for LSD-conferred psychological resilience in naturalistic users in the wake of a stressful experience.