Developing a short form of the Awe Experience Scale (AWE-SF) in psychedelic samples.
Marianna Graziosi, Julia Sarah Rohde, Stephanie Lake, Philippe Lucas, Scott Barry Kaufman, David Bryce Yaden
PloS one January 1, 2024 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0314469 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA short-form version of the AWE-S (AWE-SF) was developed and validated within psychedelic samples to measure awe while reducing participant burden. Across five studies, the original six-factor structure was replicated, and the 12-item AWE-SF showed strong associations with positive emotions and openness to experience. It effectively predicted both mystical-type and challenging psychedelic experiences, as well as long-term well-being outcomes like life satisfaction and psychological richness. Connection and vastness facets were linked to positive emotional states and mystical-type experience, while accommodation and self-loss were linked to negative emotional states and challenging psychedelic experience. The AWE-SF is a robust and reliable tool for measuring awe.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Validation study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Psychedelic samples |
| Citations | 6 |
| Key finding | The AWE-SF is a robust and reliable tool for measuring awe, with facets differentially associated with positive and negative emotional states and psychedelic experiences. |
Abstract
This study aimed to develop and validate a short-form version of the AWE-S (AWE-SF) within psychedelic samples, to reduce participant burden while maintaining psychometric integrity. Across five studies, we first replicated the original six-factor structure of the AWE-S through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (Study 1), leading to the creation of the 12-item AWE-SF (Study 2-3). We then established the AWE-SF's initial and predictive validity by correlating it with relevant emotional, psychedelic, and well-being outcomes (Study 4-6). The AWE-SF demonstrated strong positive associations with positive emotions and was also linked to openness to experience. Moreover, the AWE-SF effectively predicted both mystical-type and challenging psychedelic experiences, as well as long-term well-being outcomes such as life satisfaction and psychological richness. In particular, the facets of connection and vastness were associated with positive emotional states and mystical-type experience, while accommodation and self-loss were associated with negative emotional states and challenging psychedelic experience. These findings suggest that the AWE-SF is a robust, reliable, and accessible tool for measuring awe experience.