The Brazilian Version of the Mystical Orientation Scale Revised (MOSR-BR): An Exploratory Study.

A Brazilian Portuguese version of the Mystical Orientation Scale Revised (MOSR-BR) was developed and tested in 505 Brazilian adults. The scale showed a single underlying factor explaining 47.6% of the variance, with very high internal consistency. Higher mystical orientation scores correlated with greater death transcendence and with religious and existential well-being. People who used psychedelic substances occasionally or frequently scored higher on mystical orientation than non-users. The authors note the study is exploratory and limited by its cross-sectional design, non-random sampling, and lack of confirmatory factor analysis or test-retest reliability.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Mystical experiences are commonly described in the context of psychedelic use and other forms of expanded states of consciousness. Although the Mystical Orientation Scale Revised (MOSR) has been used in international studies, no Brazilian Portuguese version had been tested to date. This exploratory study aimed to translate, culturally adapt, and examine the psychometric properties of the MOSR for the Brazilian population (MOSR-BR). The process followed international guidelines, including translation, back-translation, expert committee review, and pre-testing. The final version was applied to a sample of 505 Brazilian adults. Exploratory factor analysis supported a unidimensional structure, explaining 47.6% of the variance. The MOSR-BR showed high internal consistency (α = .95), slightly higher than the original and Italian versions. Construct validity was evidenced by significant positive correlations between MOSR-BR and all subscales of the Death Transcendence Scale, as well as with the Religious and Existential Well-Being subscales of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale. The scale also discriminated between psychedelic substance users and non-users, with higher mystical orientation scores among occasional and frequent users. This exploratory study provides preliminary evidence supporting the value of further research on the MOSR-BR to address acknowledged limitations with the pilot study, including the cross-sectional design, non-causal inferences, recruitment method and participant self-selection, limited generalizability, absence of confirmatory factor analysis and test-retest reliability, and the need for larger and more diverse samples with longitudinal reliability assessment.