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

The analysed sample was 163 people, not all of the 204 approached in the first study; some did not return consent, were not eligible, or had never used alcohol or drugs. The sample was only people with mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning who lived in residential care and had behavioural problems, so it does not represent people with these conditions in the wider community. Substance use and motives were self-reported, and people with mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning may agree with answers or under-report sensitive topics. The AUDIT and DUDIT cut-offs were based on standards for people without mild intellectual disability or borderline intellectual functioning, so the number flagged as problematic may not be accurate for this group. The study measured links between motives and substance use, not whether one caused the other. Drug motive items were completed only by participants who used hard drugs, not by respondents who only used cannabis.

Do not read these motive links as proof that a motive-based intervention works. The study only measured links from self-report in people living in residential care.