Trance states: a theoretical model and cross-cultural analysis

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Social complexity as measured by political integration, population density, and social stratification. Possession trance beliefs were found to be positively associated with political integration (tau= .60), population density (tau= .45), and social stratification (tau= .35). In an ANOVA test, all three social complexity variables were found to be predictive of the possession and possession scale variables (p < .001). All three variables included account for 49% of variance in the possession variable, and 42% of variance in the possession scale variable. However, "only political integration has a significant predictive power beyond the main effects and interactions, and only in regression on the possession variable". Lastly, the relationship between the possession variables and political integration held, controlling on language and spatial distance.