Ayahuasca and personality. A systematic review and meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies with long-term participants (Ayahuasca y personalidad. Revisión sistemática y metaanálisis de estudios transversales con participantes de larga trayectoria)

Abstract

The current article is a systematic review and meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies that assess personality traits of long-term participants in ayahuasca rituals. An electronic search was conducted in the SCOPUS, PubMed and Web of Science databases. The systematic review included six final articles. In the meta-analysis, long-term ayahuasca participants, when compared with control groups, obtained: (i) lower significant scores for Harm Avoidance (g = −0.51), Anticipatory Worry (g = −0.56), Fear of Uncertainty (g = −0.27), Shyness with strangers (g = −0.41), Fatigability (g = −0.28) and Purposefulness (g = −0.27); (ii) higher significant scores for Reward Dependence (g = 0.34), Attachment (g = 0.40), Helpfulness (g = 0.38), Self-Transcendence (g = 0.91), Transpersonal Identification (g = 0.68) and Spiritual Acceptance (g = 1.02). The results show a ‘social’ and ‘spiritual’ profile for long-term ayahuasca participants that seems to concur with evidence from other psychedelic studies.