Preliminary validation and refinement of the psychedelic aesthetic experience questionnaire

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychopharmacology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Aesthetic experiences under psychedelics are profound but under-measured.
• Existing instruments do not fully capture the aesthetic dimensions of psychedelic states.
• There is a need for a psychometrically sound tool to assess psychedelic-induced aesthetic experiences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To refine and validate the Psychedelic Aesthetic Experience Questionnaire (PAEQ).
• To assess the aesthetic dimensions of acute psychedelic experiences.
• To provide a reliable measure for aesthetic engagement in altered states of consciousness.

Main Methods:

• 365 past-year psilocybin users completed an online survey.
• Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA & CFA) examined the PAEQ's structure.
• Reliability, convergent validity, and predictive models for psychological outcomes were evaluated.

Main Results:

• EFA and CFA supported a four-factor structure (sensory, affective, semantic, flow).
• The PAEQ demonstrated high internal consistency (α = 0.90) and convergent validity.
• PAEQ scores predicted modest improvements in sleep, pain, substance use, anxiety, depression, and quality of life.

Conclusions:

• The refined PAEQ is a psychometrically sound instrument for measuring aesthetic engagement during psychedelic experiences.
• The PAEQ's multidimensional structure offers new insights into altered states of consciousness.
• This validated tool advances empirical approaches for characterizing psychedelic experiences and their therapeutic relevance.