Table 8. Changes in death attitudes attributed to the experience among the Non-Drug, Psilocybin, LSD, Ayahuasca, and DMT groups1,2.
| Non-Drug | Psilocybin | LSD | Ayahuasca | DMT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n = 933 | n = 766 | n = 904 | n = 282 | n = 307 | |
| Changes in fear of death (%) | |||||
| Decreased fear of death | 88% | 91%a | 86%a | 90%a | 90%a |
| Increased fear of death | 5% | 6%a | 8%a | 5%a | 5%a |
| Curiosity or interest in death (%) | |||||
| Positive, desirable change | 84% | 84%a | 80%a | 84%a | 81%a |
| Negative, detrimental change | 2% | 2%a | 3%a | 2%a | 2%a |
| Attitudes about death of others (%) | |||||
| Positive, desirable change | 87% | 86%a | 84%a | 90%a | 82%a |
| Negative, detrimental change | 3% | 2%a | 3%a | 1%a | 4%a |
| Attitudes about own death (%) | |||||
| Positive, desirable change | 90% | 92%a | 92%a | 94%a | 93%a |
| Negative, detrimental change | 3% | 2%a | 3%a | 2%a | 3%a |
| Death Attitudes Profile | |||||
| Mean change score3 for each factor (SD) | |||||
| Fear of death (e.g., “I have an intense fear of death.”) | -2.32 (1.80) | -2.13 (1.65)a | -2.14 (1.70)a | -1.97 (1.65)a | -2.21 (1.62)a |
| Neutral acceptance (e.g., “Death is neither good nor bad.”) | 0.95 (1.22) | 0.91 (1.05)a | 0.95 (1.07) a | 0.76 (.87)a | 0.87 (1.00)a |
| Death avoidance (e.g., “I avoid death thoughts at all costs.”) | -2.01 (1.86) | -1.45 (1.71) a | -1.46 (1.75) a | -1.30 (1.61) a | -1.39 (1.49) a |
| Approach acceptance (e.g., “I look forward to life after death.”) | 1.13 (1.46) | 0.58 (1.21) a,b | 0.42 (1.32) a | 0.68 (1.15) a,b | 0.91 (1.31)b |
| Escape acceptance (e.g., “I see death as a relief from the burden of this life.”) | 0.27 (1.65) | -0.33 (1.49) a | -0.45 (1.63) a | -0.66 (1.70) a | -0.30 (1.43)a |
1 Comparisons between drug groups for dichotomous outcomes were made using general linear model with a logit link and Type III sums of squares including covariates as described in text; continuous data were analyzed using ANOVA with the same covariates and Type III Sums of Squares; pairwise comparisons were adjusted using the Bonferroni method to control for Type I error rate.
2 Bold font = significant difference from the Non-Drug Group (p≤0.001); drug groups not sharing a common letter are significantly different (p≤0.001).
3 Participants rated attitudes before and after the experience on a 7-point Likert scale; negative change scores indicate a decrease in the rating on that scale from before to after and positive change scores indicate an increase from before to after.