Factors associated with psychedelic attitudes and usage among college students

Abstract Background and aims Psychedelic use among college students and young adults has been increasing, but there continues to be a shortage of research on usage among college students. The purpose of this study is to identify risk factors for psychedelics use and understand how they interact with attitudes towards psychedelic usage. Methods Data were collected on 466 liberal arts college students. Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, we validated a new and brief instrument that assessed attitudes toward psychedelics called the Psychedelic Attitudes Scale (PAS). Results The PAS evidenced good psychometric properties and structural equation modeling was used to investigate factors associated with use. Demographic variables, lifetime substance use, and mental health status were used as predictors, and PAS was used as a mediator, explaining 85.6% of the variance in lifetime use. Males, sexual minorities, older students, those who were not religious, and those who used other substances evidenced more positive attitudes toward psychedelics, which in turn led to a higher likelihood of actual usage. Lifetime usage was also found to be directly associated with better mental health. Conclusions College is a time when many students experiment with psychedelics. Understanding risk and protective factors are important for identifying those at great risk and provides critical information for designing harm reduction programs. Moreover, the PAS fills a gap in the literature and provides a brief assessment tool that can be readily implemented with the general population and in future research studies to better understand how attitudes influence actual behaviors.