Cognitive biases in individuals with mild to borderline intellectual disability and alcohol use-related problems

The primary aim of the present pilot study was to examine cognitive biases in individuals with mild to borderline ID and alcohol use-related problems. Participants (N = 57) performed the approach avoidance task, picture rating task and visual dot probe task, which was combined with eye-tracking methodology. They were admitted to a forensic setting and were all abstinent and undergoing treatment at the time of testing. Three groups were formed based on the severity of alcohol use-related problems as measured by the AUDIT. In line with the expectations, no differences were found between participants based on the severity of their alcohol use-related problems. In addition, three groups were formed based on IQ to assess the relationship between IQ and the strength of the cognitive biases. There were also no differences between individuals with mild or borderline ID and individuals with (below) average IQ on any of the variables. It is concluded that computer tasks such as these can be used in individuals with mild to borderline ID. As the results suggest no influence of IQ on the strength of cognitive biases, this study opens up new opportunities for future research on the application of measuring cognitive biases in screening, diagnosing and treating individuals with mild to borderline ID and alcohol use-related problems. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.