Johnstad Petter Grahl
University of Bergen, Norway.
Nordisk Alkohol Nark. 2021 Feb;38(1):35-49. doi: 10.1177/1455072520963787. Epub 2020 Oct 20.
This article argues that despite a resurgence in research on psychedelics over the last two decades, we still have little insight into the psychedelics user population. Furthermore, there is currently little agreement between researchers as to the long-term mental health consequences of psychedelics use.
In a methodological review of a range of studies in psychedelics use, it is demonstrated that these studies tend to focus on specific segments of the user population while excluding others. These population segments are probably connected to different patterns of use, which in turn are likely to result in different long-term consequences.
The divergent findings on the consequences of psychedelics use may be explained, at least in part, by the fact that different research strategies explore different segments of the user population. Studies focusing on user segments with problematic usage patterns tend to find that psychedelics use is negative for mental health, while studies on infrequent users tend to find that psychedelics use is positive for mental health.
Because the field of psychedelics studies lacks a reliable model of the user population, it is difficult for researchers to contextualise and assess the broader validity of their findings. To remedy this situation, the article presents three theoretical models of the user population that afford us with tentative means of contextualising findings and thereby may clarify present disagreements.
本文认为，尽管在过去二十年里，对迷幻剂的研究再度兴起，但我们对迷幻剂使用者群体仍知之甚少。此外，目前研究人员对于使用迷幻剂对长期心理健康的影响尚未达成共识。
在对一系列迷幻剂使用研究的方法学综述中，表明这些研究倾向于关注使用者群体的特定部分，而排除其他部分。这些人群部分可能与不同的使用模式相关，而这反过来又可能导致不同的长期后果。
关于使用迷幻剂后果的不同研究结果，至少部分可以通过不同的研究策略探索使用者群体的不同部分这一事实来解释。关注有问题使用模式的使用者群体的研究往往发现，使用迷幻剂对心理健康有负面影响，而对不常使用者的研究则往往发现，使用迷幻剂对心理健康有积极影响。
由于迷幻剂研究领域缺乏可靠的使用者群体模型，研究人员难以将其研究结果置于具体情境中并评估其更广泛的有效性。为了纠正这种情况，本文提出了三种使用者群体的理论模型，为我们提供了将研究结果置于具体情境中的初步方法，从而可能澄清目前的分歧。
