Viña Sean M
Department of Sociology, The University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
Psychedelic Med (New Rochelle). 2025 May 26;3(2):71-80. doi: 10.1089/psymed.2024.0021. eCollection 2025 Jun.
Prior research has found an association between psychedelic use and reduced stigma attached to mental illness. However, whether psychedelics alleviate stigma-related distress remains unclear. Since stigma impacts different groups uniquely, any moderating effect of psychedelics on stigma-related distress is likely to vary across subpopulations. This study addresses two main questions: (1) Do psychedelics moderate the relationship between stigma and distress? and (2) does this relationship vary by gender and race/ethnicity? By exploring these questions, this research seeks to contribute to our understanding of psychedelic use and its impact on mental health across diverse populations.
Data from the National Survey of Drug Use (2008-2019) were analyzed, with a weighted sample of 458,372. The main analysis used regression models in Stata 18 to examine the associations between lifetime psychedelic use (LPU) (psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide [LSD], N,N-dimethyltryptamine, peyote/mescaline, ayahuasca, and 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine), stigma attached to seeking mental health care, and psychological distress. This analysis examines whether the association between stigma and distress differs by gender, race/ethnicity, and psychedelic use (i.e., White men, White women, Black men, Black women, Asian men, Asian women, Hispanic men, and Hispanic women).
Results indicate that men report lower perceived stigma than women, while women report higher distress. White, Black, and Hispanic women report the highest stigma levels. Regression analysis suggests that among the total population, stigma is statistically associated with higher distress, and interaction terms indicate that MDMA, psilocybin, LSD, and LPU are linked to variations in this relationship. Regression models stratified by gender and race/ethnicity suggest that while LPU, LSD, and DMT were statistically associated with differences in the relationship between stigma and distress for White men, these associations appeared weaker for other groups.
Psychedelic use is associated with lower reported distress from internalized stigma, though the directionality and mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. Further research should be conducted to investigate how psychedelics can be integrated into comprehensive health treatment programs outside of psychedelics-assisted therapy. However, it is worth noting that individuals from gender and racial/ethnic minority groups may not experience the same level of benefits, suggesting other strategies may be necessary to address the stigma experienced by different groups.
先前的研究发现使用迷幻药与减轻对精神疾病的污名化之间存在关联。然而，迷幻药是否能减轻与污名相关的痛苦仍不清楚。由于污名对不同群体的影响具有独特性，迷幻药对与污名相关痛苦的任何调节作用可能在不同亚群体中有所不同。本研究解决两个主要问题：（1）迷幻药是否调节污名与痛苦之间的关系？（2）这种关系是否因性别和种族/族裔而异？通过探索这些问题，本研究旨在增进我们对迷幻药使用及其对不同人群心理健康影响的理解。
对来自全国药物使用调查（2008 - 2019年）的数据进行分析，加权样本为458,372。主要分析使用Stata 18中的回归模型，以检验终生迷幻药使用（LPU）（裸盖菇素、麦角酸二乙酰胺[LSD]、N,N - 二甲基色胺、仙人球毒碱/三甲氧苯乙胺、死藤水和3,4 - 亚甲基二氧甲基苯丙胺）、寻求心理健康护理的污名以及心理痛苦之间的关联。该分析考察污名与痛苦之间的关联是否因性别、种族/族裔以及迷幻药使用情况（即白人男性、白人女性、黑人男性、黑人女性、亚洲男性、亚洲女性、西班牙裔男性和西班牙裔女性）而有所不同。
结果表明，男性报告的感知污名低于女性，而女性报告的痛苦更高。白人、黑人和西班牙裔女性报告的污名水平最高。回归分析表明，在总人口中，污名与更高的痛苦在统计学上相关，交互项表明摇头丸、裸盖菇素、LSD和LPU与这种关系的变化有关。按性别和种族/族裔分层的回归模型表明，虽然LPU、LSD和DMT与白人男性污名与痛苦之间关系的差异在统计学上相关，但这些关联在其他群体中似乎较弱。
使用迷幻药与内化污名所导致的较低痛苦报告相关，尽管这种关联的方向性和潜在机制仍不清楚。应进一步开展研究，以调查如何将迷幻药纳入除迷幻药辅助治疗之外的综合健康治疗方案。然而，值得注意的是，来自性别和种族/族裔少数群体的个体可能无法获得同等程度的益处，这表明可能需要其他策略来解决不同群体所经历的污名问题。
