Validation of a French Version of the Mystical Experience Questionnaire with Retrospective Reports of the Most Significant Psychedelic Experience among French Users

ABSTRACT

Mystical experiences triggered by psychedelic drugs predict symptom reduction in various psychiatric disorders, and increased well-being in healthy individuals. This work aimed at validating a French version of a tool used to measure mystical experiences: the Revised Mystical Experience Questionnaire-30 items (MEQ30). Construct validity, internal consistencies, concurrent, discriminant, and predictive validities of the French MEQ30 were examined using data about the most significant psychedelic experience of 320 French individuals. Results showed that the original four-factor (i.e., mystical, positive mood, transcendence, and ineffability) structure fit the data best, with good to excellent statistical indices. Total French MEQ30 score was strongly associated with subjective ratings of the mystical (i.e., mystical, spiritual, or religious, and personally significant) and drug intensity-related qualities of the experience, but not with non-mystical (i.e., fun, inebriating, and easy) qualities. Moreover, French MEQ30 score was a significant predictor of subjective positive changes in psychological well-being, relations with self and others, feeling of proximity or connection with nature, and creativity, whereas drug intensity-related and non-mystical qualities of the experience were not, or were only weakly associated with such changes. This French version of the MEQ30 seems to be an appropriate tool for measuring mystical experiences among French speaking individuals.

KEYWORDS:

• Mystical experience
• psychedelics
• psilocybin
• LSD
• psychometry
• psychological well-being

Acknowledgments

Authors would like to thank Marin Fauvel for his effort in back-translating the instructions and the items of the revised Mystical Experience Questionnaire-30 items. We also wish to thank all the anonymous respondents who offered their time to participate in the study. We thank the French Psychedelic Society as well as the administrators’ teams of the web forums PsychoActif and Psychonaut for their help in setting-up and disseminating the survey. Finally, we are grateful toward the two anonymous reviewers for their examinations and comments of the first version of the manuscript.

Code availability

R code used for data processing and analysis can be sent on demand.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability

Information Letter and Consent Form mentioned that the data will be securely stored and administrated by the authors. Therefore, we cannot make the data publicly available. However, if properly justified, the corresponding author can send the data on demand at his discretion.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.