Ayahuasca in adolescence: a preliminary psychiatric assessment

This study (n=80) evaluated the psychiatric health of adolescents who used ayahuasca in a religious context, compared to a matched control group of adolescents who did not use ayahuasca. The authors found that, compared to controls, considerable lower frequencies of positive scoring for anxiety, body dysmorphism, and attentional problems were detected among ayahuasca-using adolescents despite overall similar psychopathological profiles.

Abstract

“Ayahuasca is believed to be harmless for those (including adolescents) drinking it within a religious setting. Nevertheless controlled studies on the mental/ psychiatric status of ritual hallucinogenic ayahuasca concoction consumers are still lacking. In this study, 40 adolescents from a Brazilian ayahuasca sect were compared with 40 controls matched on sex, age, and educational background for psychiatric symptomatology. Screening scales for depression, anxiety, alcohol consumption patterns (abuse), attentional problems. and body dysmorphic disorders were used. It was found that, compared to controls, considerable lower frequencies of positive scoring for anxiety, body dismorphism, and attentional problems were detected among ayahuasca-using adolescents despite overall similar psychopathological profiles displayed by both study groups. Low frequencies of psychiatric symptoms detected among adolescents consuming ayahuasca within a religious context may reflect a protective effect due to their religious affiliation. However further studies on the possible interference of other variables in the outcome are necessary.”

Authors: Dartiu Xavier Da Silveira, Charles S. Grob, Marlene Dobkin de Rios, Enrique Lopez & Luisa K. Alonso

Notes

This paper pairs well with another study that year by Dobkin de Rios and colleagues (2011) that compared this group to non-ayahuasca using peers. Doering-Silveira and colleagues (2011) also compared the neuropsychological differences (none found) of these groups.

Summary

Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic concoction of plants used as a psychoactive ritual sacrament in ceremonies of the syncretic churches Unio do Vegetal (UDV) and Santo Daime. Adolescents are offered the opportunity to voluntarily join their parents and participate in ritual ceremonies where ayahuasca is consumed.

A research investigation of ayahuasca use in long-term adult members of the UDV called the Hoasca Project concluded that there was no evidence of injurious effect induced by ritual use of ayahuasca.

The membership of the UDV in Brazil is estimated at close to 9,000, including approximately 1,200 adolescents. This study aimed to evaluate the mental condition of these adolescents.

Method

Sample and Procedure

40 adolescents from both sexes, ages 15 to 19, who had drunk ayahuasca in a ritual context for at least 24 times in the last two years prior to the assessment were interviewed together with a comparison group of 40 adolescents matched by sex, age, and educational level.

Instruments

In the last decades, standardized methods of measurement have been used to measure psychiatric morbidity in the community and clinical settings. These tests are usually referred to as “screening tests” and are easy to administer and do not involve rich diagnostic detail.

Subjects were assessed for mental status using the Self Report Questionnaire, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, the DUSI and the Body Shape Questionnaire.

Results

Demographic Data

In the ayahuasca group, 22 adolescents were male and 18 were female. Their mean age was 16.52 + 1.34 years, and most of them lived with their parents.

In the comparison group, 22 males and 18 females were involved. The mean age was 16.62 + 1.0 years, and most of the adolescents lived with their parents.

Pattern of Ayahuasca Consumption

Twenty-five adolescents started drinking ayahuasca systematically during childhood, 15 began drinking when adolescents, and 39 reported that the experience had a profoundly positive influence on their lives.

Psychiatric Assessment

Three adolescents (7.5%) had high scores on psychiatric symptoms, two adolescents (5.0%) had high scores on STAI-State scale, 12 adolescents (30%) presented with depressive symptoms, and four adolescents (10.0%) screened positively for body dysmorphic disorder.

In the comparison group, four adolescents presented high scores on psychiatric symptoms, but none scored positively for alcohol related problems or substance abuse or dependence. Seven adolescents presented high scores on STAI-State scale.

Adolescents from the comparison group demonstrated a trend to have more problems than adolescents from the ayahuasca group with anxiety symptoms, self image, and inattentiveness. After stratification by gender, differences among the ayahuasca and the comparison group were more expressive among women.

Discussion

Adult long-term ayahuasca users in Brazil had considerable past psychiatric histories, but remitted following their regular attendance at ayahuasca ceremonies. Adolescents drinking ayahuasca within a religious context had similar psychopathological profiles to controls, but showed less anxiety symptoms, less body image dysmorphia, and fewer attention deficit disorders.

Ayahuasca church members report that the more they engage in ayahuasca rituals, the more they “learn” how to focus their attention.

The Hoasca project identified significant personality differences between ayahuasca using and nonusing groups. Ayahuasca using adolescents reported lower frequencies of psychiatric symptoms in comparison with nonusing adolescents, probably reflecting the strong sense of belonging to a well-structured religious community.