Reduced death anxiety as a mediator of the relationship between acute subjective effects of psychedelics and improved subjective well-being

Figures & data

Table 1. Descriptive table of demographic variables.

Individual-level variables	Number	%
Ethnicity
Australian	81	40.3
New Zealander	8	4.0
Asian	1	0.5
Indian	1	0.5
Middle Eastern	3	1.5
European	49	24.4
North American	33	16.4
South American	3	1.5
African	2	1.0
Other or prefer not to say	20	0.5
Previously used psychedelics prior to meaningful experience
LSD	176	87.1
Psilocybin	167	83.1
DMT	78	38.8
Ayahuasca	43	21.4
Mescaline	39	19.4
Elapsed time period since the chosen psychedelic-induced meaningful experience
1 week to 1 month ago	29	14.4
1 month to 1 year ago	78	38.8
1–3 years ago	47	23.4
3–5 years ago	24	11.9
5–10 years ago	23	11.4
Main drug used during the meaningful experience
Psilocybin	61	30.3
LSD	93	46.3
Ayahuasca	23	11.4
Mescaline	7	3.5
DMT	17	8.5
Subjective dose
Low	13	6.5
Moderate	78	38.8
Moderately high	75	37.5
High	35	17.4

Table 2. Changes in fear of death and subjective well-being.

	Mean (SD)
	Before	Currently	F		df	p	η^2
Fear of death	3.67(1.59)	2.69(1.36)	105.14		1, 200	<.001	0.35
Satisfaction with life	3.24(1.47)	4.95(1.29)	243.52		1, 200	<.001	0.55
Positive affect	3.16(0.65)	3.86(0.63)	164.89		1, 200	<.001	0.45
Negative affect	3.26(0.73)	2.49(0.62)	202.73		1, 200	<.001	0.50

Figure 1. Relationships between acute subjective effects, and changes in fear of death and subjective well-being measures.

Table 3. Pearson’s bivariate correlations between study variables.

	1	2	3	4	5
1. Mystical experience
2. Psychological insight	.33**
3. Change in fear of death	−.21**	−.06
4. Change in satisfaction with life	.19**	.37**	−.22**
5. Change in positive affect	.24**	.37**	−.23**	.67**
6. Change in negative affect	−.26**	−.37**	.21**	−.49**	−.78**

**Correlation is significant at the .01 level.

*Correlation is significant at the .05 level.

Note. Positive change scores reflect increases on measures from before the meaningful psychedelic experience to presently.

Table 4. Total, direct, and indirect effects of mystical experience and psychological insight.

		Total effect		Direct effect		Indirect effect through fear of death
		b (SE)	95% CIs	b (SE)	95% CIs	b	95% CIs
Mystical experience	Satisfaction with life	0.15	−0.13,	0.07	−0.22,	0.08	0.01,
		(0.15)	0.44	(0.15)	0.36	(0.05)	0.20
	Positive affect	0.14	0.001,	0.10	−0.040,	0.04	0.01,
		(0.07)	0.28	(0.07)	0.24	(0.02)	0.09
	Negative affect	−0.16	−0.30,	−0.12	−0.25,	−0.04	−0.08,
		(0.07)	−0.02	(0.07)	0.02	(0.02)	−0.005
Psychological insights	Satisfaction with life	0.73	0.44,	0.73	0.44,	−0.002	−0.07,
		(0.15)	1.03	(0.14)	1.02	(0.03)	0.05
	Positive affect	0.34	0.19,	0.34	0.20,	−0.002	−0.04,
		(.07)	0.48	(.08)	0.48	(0.02)	0.03
	Negative affect	−0.34	−0.48,	−0.34	−0.48,	0.001	−0.03,
		(.07)	−19	(.07)	−0.20	(0.01)	0.03