Substance use among individuals with mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning in residential care: Examining the relationship between drinking motives and substance use

Background This study examined the relationship between substance use motives (i.e., social, conformity, coping and enhancement) and substance use in individuals with mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning (MID-BIF). Method Data were collected among 163 clients with MID-BIF using interactive questionnaires with visual cues on a tablet with a web application. Results Results show that social motives were positively related to frequency of alcohol use, while conformity, coping and enhancement motives were positively related to severity of alcohol use. Results for drug use show that social motives were positively related to frequency of cannabis and hard drug use and that conformity motives were negatively related to frequency of cannabis use. Coping motives were positively related to severity of drug use. Conclusions Insight in substance use motives should be used when adapting interventions, as it could contribute to the prevention and reduction of substance use disorders in individuals with MID-BIF.