Psychedelic use and intimate partner violence: The role of emotion regulation
Abstract
Background Recent evidence suggests that psychedelic use predicts reduced perpetration of intimate partner violence among men involved in the criminal justice system. However, the extent to which this association generalizes to community samples has not been examined, and potential mechanisms underlying this association have not been directly explored. Aims The present study examined the association between lifetime psychedelic use and intimate partner violence among a community sample of men and women. The study also tested the extent to which the associations were mediated by improved emotion regulation. Methods We surveyed 1266 community members aged 16-70 (mean age=22.78, standard deviation =7.71) using an online questionnaire that queried substance use, emotional regulation, and intimate partner violence. Respondents were coded as psychedelic users if they reported one or more instance of using lysergic acid diethylamide and/or psilocybin mushrooms in their lifetime. Results/outcomes: Males reporting any experience using lysergic acid diethylamide and/or psilocybin mushrooms had decreased odds of perpetrating physical violence against their current partner (odds ratio=0.42, p Conclusions/interpretation These findings extend prior research showing a negative relationship between psychedelic use and intimate partner violence, and highlight the potential role of emotion regulation in this association.
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Two relevant studies used cross-sectional designs, which prevent analysis of process-level psychedelic changes and may be affected by retrospective bias.
“First, two of the relevant studies used cross-sectional designs that inherently preclude analysis of process-level psychedelic changes and may be impacted by retrospective bias (Davis et al., 2020; Thiessen et al., 2018).”
From Prospective examination of the therapeutic role of psychological flexibility and cognitive reappraisal in the ceremonial use of ayahuasca (2022) · cites this paper as Thiessen et al., 2018
Most studies using an emotion regulation perspective have focused on acute emotional engagement and breakthrough rather than on evaluating and challenging automatic cognitions and core beliefs during a psychedelic session.
“However, most studies that have used an emotion regulation perspective have focused more heavily on acute emotional engagement and breakthrough rather than on the ability to evaluate and challenge the validity of automatic cognitions and core beliefs during a psychedelic session (Close et al., 2020; Roseman et al., 2019; Thiessen et al., 2018).”
From Prospective examination of the therapeutic role of psychological flexibility and cognitive reappraisal in the ceremonial use of ayahuasca (2022) · cites this paper as Thiessen et al., 2018
Another study found that emotion regulation ability cross-sectionally mediated the link between psychedelic use and lower intimate partner violence.
“Another study found that emotion regulation ability cross-sectionally mediated the relation between psychedelic use and lower intimate partner violence (Thiessen et al., 2018).”
From Prospective examination of the therapeutic role of psychological flexibility and cognitive reappraisal in the ceremonial use of ayahuasca (2022) · cites this paper as Thiessen et al., 2018
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“First, two of the relevant studies used cross-sectional designs that inherently preclude analysis of process-level psychedelic changes and may be impacted by retrospective bias (Davis et al., 2020; Thiessen et al., 2018).”
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Thiessen, M. S., Walsh, Z., Bird, B. M., & Lafrance, A.
- Affiliations
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- Simon Fraser University (CA)
- Department of Psychology, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON, Canada
- Corresponding author
- Thiessen, Michelle S
- ORCID
- Bird, Brian M
- Venue
- Journal of Psychopharmacology
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2018-05-29
- Volume
- 32
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 749-755
- ISSN
- 0269-8811 (ISSN-L)
- 1461-7285
- OpenAlex
- W2807286797
- Cited by
- 60
- References
- 15
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 6.77
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Psychopharmacology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (F10-04928)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychedelics and Drug Studies
- Social Sciences › Health › Intimate Partner and Family Violence
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Keywords
- psychedelic use, intimate partner violence, emotion regulation, lysergic acid diethylamide, psilocybin, mediation, men, women, community sample
- MeSH terms
- Intimate Partner Violence, Adolescent, Adult, Agaricales, Aged, Emotions, Female, Hallucinogens, Humans, Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, Male, Middle Aged, Psilocybin, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sex Factors, Young Adult
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