No Conditions Study Focus on Substance Use and Personality
Conditions
Keywords
personality, substance use, psychedelics, drugs
Brief summary
This is an observational, naturalistic study that aims to assess whether people with different histories of recreational or therapeutic illicit substance use (or no history at all) will differ in terms of their personalities.
Detailed description
The study aims to assess the association between the use of various substances (including psychedelic and non-psychedelic drugs) and personality profiles. Specifically, the study will investigate if people with different histories of drug use differ in personality profiles. As psychedelics were found to influence changes in personality over time, the investigators sought to measure both the current personality profile (via the Big Five Inventory-44 (BFI)) and perceived retrospective changes in personality (via a self-constructed Retrospective Personality Scale (RPS). To investigators' knowledge, no study has explored the diversity of substance use histories in relation to individual current and retrospective personality traits and aggregate personality profiles. The investigators aim to survey a large number of participants from all around the world, using a mobile app-based survey. The remote character of the study will increase its accessibility and diversity, which are common shortcomings in the psychedelic line of research. Additionally, a remote and anonymous study setup with no face-to-face interactions might help overcome any potential concerns participants may have regarding the sharing of sensitive information (e.g., reports on illicit substance use). To increase scientific transparency and for educational purposes (comparing personalized results with the aggregated results of participants with similar socio-demographic profiles), investigators plan to share personalized results summaries with participants of the study, which might be an additional motivating factor for study completion. In conclusion, this large-scale, low-budget, naturalistic, retrospective, observational study aims to shed light on the aforementioned gap in the literature and lay a foundation of evidence for further research.
Interventions
OTHERUsage of drugs
Self-reported past usage of drugs belonging to different chemical groups.
Sponsors
Maastricht University
Quantified Citizen Technologies Inc.
Psychedelic Data Society
Study design
Observational model
CASE_CONTROL
Time perspective
RETROSPECTIVE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Inclusion criteria
* 18 years of age or older * full legal and mental capacity * access to a smartphone with internet to fill in the study measures (available for iOS and Android)
Exclusion criteria
* lack of proficiency in English * visual impairments (not able to use mobile devices) * illiteracy
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in scores on Big Five Inventory (BFI-44) | Measured twice: once referring to participants' personality from a period of their youth (18-21 years old) and the second time: the current moment, how they perceived their personality in general terms. | The study will collect measures of past (youth) and current BFI scores. A separate score will be reported for each of the 5 personality traits measured by the inventory. Each score is computed by averaging the items associated with a given domain. Scores for each domain vary from 1 to 5, with higher scores meaning that a given trait is more present and noticeable in personality of the person that provided the answers. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in scores on Retrospective Personality Scale (RPS) | Measured twice: once referring to participants' personality from a period of their youth (18-21 years old) and the second time: the current moment, how they perceived their personality in general terms. | The study will collect measures of past (youth) and current RPS scores. A separate score will be reported for each of the 2 personality domains: positive and negative. Each of the 20 items is scored on a 3-point scale, using the following encoding: -1 (=Less), (=Without change), 1 (=More). Mean scores of 10 items for each of the domains (positive and negative) form the total score. Score Interpretation: For the positive domain, the mean score of 0 indicates no changes in personality, whereas the positive mean score (larger than 0) indicates positive changes in personality and scores below 0 point out negative changes. The reverse interpretation is true for the negative domain, with a mean score of 0 indicating no changes. |
Contacts
Primary ContactMaggie K Kiraga, MSc
Backup ContactKim PC Kuypers, PhD
Outcome results
None listed