Research Title:
Psychedelics, Nature Relatedness and Pro Environmental Behavior
Principal investigator:
David Moor
About the researcher:
Hi, my name is David. I’m in my master’s study in the field of psychology at the university of Vienna. Beside my academic affiliation I work in a fully assisted living facility for people with mental health issues. I’m currently undergoing a training to become a psychotherapist as well as a breathwork teacher.
Affiliation:
University of Vienna, AT
Research objective:
The goal of this study is to investigate the potential transformative effects of psychedelic substances on nature relatedness and pro environmental behaviour.
Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between psychedelic substance use, nature relatedness (NR), and pro-environmental behavior (PEB). Previous studies, such as those by Forstmann & Sagioglou (2017) and Lyons & Carhart-Harris (2018), have established a link between psychedelic use, increased NR, and greater engagement in PEB. The current study employed a cross-sectional online survey and collected data from 205 participants. Measures include the Nature Relatedness Scale (NR-6; Nisbet & Zelenski, 2013), the Recurring Pro-environmental Behavior Scale (RPEBS; Brick et al., 2017), and the Big Five Inventory (BFI-10; Rammstedt et al., 2013) for personality traits. Psychedelic use, including substances like psilocybin, DMT, mescaline and LSD, was assessed with an altered version of the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST; Humeniuk et al., 2010). Additional data was collected on ego dissolution (EDI; Nour et al., 2017) and the setting of use. Results revealed that psilocybin and DMT use significantly predicted higher nature relatedness scores. The personality trait openness to experience and age were found to be significant positive predictors of NR, while NR and conscientiousness significantly predicted higher PEB scores. Contrary to expectations, psilocybin emerged as a significant negative predictor of PEB in the multiple linear regression model (MLR). However, the mediation analysis revealed a statistically significant positive indirect effect of psilocybin on PEB through NR. The category of other psychedelics showed a positive association with PEB. The mediation analysis showed that ego dissolution partially explained the relationship between psychedelic substance use and NR, highlighting the central importance of the quality of the experience. The setting did not emerge as a significant moderator in the relationship between psychedelic use and nature relatedness.