Subjective long-term emotional and social effects of recreational MDMA use: the role of setting and intentions

MDMA is a recreational drug commonly used to enhance euphoria, but it is also used in non-party settings with self-insight or social connection intentions. Yet, little is known about whether distinct consumer groups are formed based on consumption setting and intention. We aimed to characterize different types of recreational MDMA users based on consumption setting and intentions, and to examine their differences in perceptions of long-term social-emotional effects of MDMA use. We analyzed self-reports of 766 individuals (ages 18–61, mostly from Western countries), reporting on their MDMA consumption habits and perceived effects. We used a K-medoids clustering algorithm to identify distinct types of consumption settings and intentions. We identified three setting types – party settings with friends (N = 388), private home settings ( N = 132), mixed settings ( N = 246) – and three intention types – euphoria and energy ( N = 302), self-insight ( N = 219), mixed intentions ( N = 245). Members of the self-insight and mixed intentions clusters reported considerably more long-term socio-emotional benefits than members of the euphoria and energy cluster. No differences were observed between the setting clusters. In this particular sample, more long-term benefits than harms were reported. Our findings suggest that the long-term social-emotional benefits of MDMA are associated with whether users seek self-insight or have mixed intentions.