A review of substance use research among those with mental retardation

Abstract

This article reviews research conducted on the cigarette, alcohol, and illicit drug use of adolescents and adults with mental retardation (MR). The majority of the research related to substance use conducted on this population has been limited to surveys. Overall, results of these studies suggest that, although substance use is slightly lower among those with MR than among nondisabled comparison groups, it is nonetheless a problem for many individuals. This research is reviewed and a discussion of both the general and specific flaws of these studies follows. Further, the examination of education, prevention, and treatment programs for this population has been overlooked, indicating that individuals with MR are likely not receiving the services most appropriate for them. The article concludes with a discussion of several topics that need to be addressed in future studies, including research on potential best practices in the overlooked areas of substance abuse interventions.

Substance Use in Individuals with Mild to Borderline Intellectual Disability: an Exploration of Rates and Risks in the Netherlands

“…While sampling differences may contribute to the different rates between the Dutch and Flemish SumID studies, the exclusion of individuals with BID in the latter does not explain our higher rates since we did not find differences between BID and MID in SU rates, and for that matter neither in age of initial use. As described in other populations (see e.g., Carroll Chapman and Wu 2012;McGillicuddy 2006), SU initiation occurred typically in adolescence, but several participants initiated SU at primary school age. Participants who were current users, had started at younger ages than those who desisted, corroborating findings in individuals without MBID (Bolland et al 2016;Nelson et al 2015;Prince van Leeuwen et al 2014).…”

“…Individuals with mild to borderline intellectual disability (MBID) have been identified as a risk group for negative consequences of substance use (SU), and substance use disorder (SUD) (Burgard et al 2000;Carroll Chapman and Wu 2012;Hassiotis et al 2011;McGillicuddy 2006;Mcgillivray and Moore 2001;Van Duijvenbode et al 2015). Unfortunately, little is known about SU prevalence and risk factors in individuals with MBID.…”

“…While selfreported SU in the general population is associated with high levels of under-report (see e.g., Fendrich et al 2004), selfreport in individuals with MBID may be even more biased, especially when mainstream questionnaires are used (McGillicuddy 2006;VanDerNagel et al 2013;Van Duijvenbode et al 2015). However, the Substance use and misuse in intellectual disability -Questionnaire (SumID-Q, VanDerNagel et al 2011bVanDerNagel et al , 2013) -specifically developed to assess SU in MBID-had moderate to almost perfect agreement with biomarker analysis, and low levels of under-report ).…”

Screening Tests for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities

“…Lower smoking rates (compared with the general population) have been noted among adults with severe ID and equivalent or higher rates among community-dwellers and adults with mild ID. 33 This may be because of the intellectually disabled adult modeling of their caregiver's smoking behavior 34 or to limited success with smoking cessation. One study commented that people with ID were more likely to quit if encouraged to do so by their doctor.…”

The Health-Related Quality of Life of Adults with Down Syndrome

“…However, Havercamp, Scandlin, and Roth (2004) found that 17.8% of 946 adults with a developmental disability in North Carolina reported a history of smoking cigarettes compared to 24.8% of individuals without a disability. McGillicuddy (2006) determined that 18% of adults with an intellectual and/or developmental disability (IDD) and a dual mental health diagnosis smoke cigarettes, with the rates increasing as the severity of IDD decreases. Additionally in the same review, it was demonstrated that between one-fourth to one-half of adults with IDD consume alcohol regularly, which is less than adults without IDD, but misuse/abuse rates were higher in those with IDD than those without (McGillicuddy, 2006).…”