Validation of a new instrument for assessing attitudes on psychedelics in the general population

Although there is research interest to assess attitudes on psychedelics, no validated instrument exists for this purpose. We aimed to develop and examine the psychometric properties of the Attitudes on Psychedelics Questionnaire (APQ) in a sample of the Croatian general population. A cross-sectional, web-based survey among the general population was conducted on 1153 participants (62.1% female, 77.7% with a graduate or high school degree, 15.1% health care workers). We assessed participants’ ability to recognize psychedelic substances using a short knowledge test. The APQ consists of 20 items with four sub-scales: Legal Use of Psychedelics , Effects of Psychedelics , Risk Assessment of Psychedelics , and Openness to Psychedelics . This model demonstrated best fit in a confirmatory factor analysis. Total scale reliability was excellent (McDonald’s ω = 0.949, 95% CI = 0.944–0.953). A strong correlation with a similar unvalidated measure (r = 0.885, P