TY - JOUR

T1 - Validation of the Danish Translation of the Revised Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ30) and Possible Impact of Setting, Dose and Intention

AU - Hovmand, Oliver Rumle

AU - Ebbesen Jensen, Mathias

AU - Søgaard Juul, Tobias

AU - Korsbak Madsen, Martin

AU - MacDonald Fisher, Patrick

AU - Siggaard Stenbæk, Dea

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - Research suggests positive changes in both well-being and psychiatric symptoms following a psychedelic experience. One explanation may be the ability of psychedelic compounds to occasion mystical-type experiences. The Revised Mystical Experiences Questionnaire (MEQ30) is designed to assess the intensity and quality of such experiences. We examined the validity, reliability, and factor structure of a Danish translation of the MEQ30 in one sample of healthy volunteers receiving psilocybin in a laboratory setting (N = 47) and two samples of recreative users of psychedelics, in which MEQ30 was reported retrospectively through an online survey based on their most recent experience with psilocybin (N = 834) or their most memorable experience with any psychedelic (N = 500). We conducted a confirmatory factor analysis of the previously suggested factor structures, calculated alpha and omega, and tested the associations between MEQ30 total score and setting, intention and dose. We found excellent internal reliability estimates across all samples, and confirmatory factor analysis showed that a four-factor structure, had the best, fair fit to the data. We further found that the MEQ30 total score was correlated with dose and a spiritual/religious intention, but not with setting. The Danish MEQ30 seems to be a valid tool for accessing mystical-type experiences among Danish-speaking individuals.

AB - Research suggests positive changes in both well-being and psychiatric symptoms following a psychedelic experience. One explanation may be the ability of psychedelic compounds to occasion mystical-type experiences. The Revised Mystical Experiences Questionnaire (MEQ30) is designed to assess the intensity and quality of such experiences. We examined the validity, reliability, and factor structure of a Danish translation of the MEQ30 in one sample of healthy volunteers receiving psilocybin in a laboratory setting (N = 47) and two samples of recreative users of psychedelics, in which MEQ30 was reported retrospectively through an online survey based on their most recent experience with psilocybin (N = 834) or their most memorable experience with any psychedelic (N = 500). We conducted a confirmatory factor analysis of the previously suggested factor structures, calculated alpha and omega, and tested the associations between MEQ30 total score and setting, intention and dose. We found excellent internal reliability estimates across all samples, and confirmatory factor analysis showed that a four-factor structure, had the best, fair fit to the data. We further found that the MEQ30 total score was correlated with dose and a spiritual/religious intention, but not with setting. The Danish MEQ30 seems to be a valid tool for accessing mystical-type experiences among Danish-speaking individuals.

KW - LSD

KW - mystical experience

KW - psilocybin

KW - Psychedelics

U2 - 10.1080/02791072.2024.2302186

DO - 10.1080/02791072.2024.2302186

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 38225795

AN - SCOPUS:85182475625

JO - Journal of Psychoactive Drugs

JF - Journal of Psychoactive Drugs

SN - 0279-1072

ER -