An exploration of substance misuse in people with intellectual disabilities

Abstract

The findings of this study suggest that greater emphasis needs to be placed upon the early identification of this hidden population by primary and secondary healthcare personnel, and also ID personnel. Such early identification may also diminish the long-established patterns of use and associated related-behaviours that have been reported within this paper.

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

“…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). Though gender, age and lack of daytime activities were associated with SU, independent living and level of ID (MID versus BID) were not, contrary to suggestions from other studies (e.g., To et al 2014;Taggart et al 2006). Moreover, demographic and contextual factors were of little relevance to the final models in which substance picture recognition, knowledge, attitude and modeling were added.…”

“…Several demographic, contextual and diagnostic factors have been associated with SU(D) in MBID, such as younger than 30 years old, male, no structured daytime activities VanDerNagel et al 2011a), and living independently (Taggart et al 2006;To et al 2014). Furthermore, SU(D) in MBID is associated with psychiatric or behavioral (Chaplin et al 2011;Didden et al 2009) and forensic problems (Crocker et al 2007;Hassiotis et al 2011;Mcgillivray et al 2015).…”

“…In offenders with ID, several studies found SUD rates of approximately 60% (Crocker et al 2007;Hassiotis et al 2011;Mcgillivray et al 2015). On the other hand, in several community based samples only 1% had a SUD diagnosis (Cooper et al 2007;Taggart et al 2006). As to SU, in a Belgian study in 123 individuals with MBID living independently, 48% smoked, 46% drank alcohol, and 2% used illicit substances in the past month (Swerts et al 2017).…”

Substance Use and Disabilities: Experiences of Adults' Social Care Professionals and the Implications for Education and Training

“…Taggart and colleagues (Taggart, Mc Laughlin, Quinn, & Milligan, 2004) have conducted research and literature reviews in this area and comment that problems with definitions and varying research methodology complicate any attempt to estimate rates of AOD problems, although the consensus appears to be that people with LDs are less likely to use AOD than the general population. However, what is clear from the literature is that there is increasing concern about the risk of more people with LDs developing problems with AOD as a result of the ongoing move towards encouraging and supporting their independence and inclusion.…”

Substance Use, Offending, and Participation in Alcohol and Drug Treatment Programmes: A Comparison of Prisoners with and without Intellectual Disabilities

“…For people with intellectual disabilities who use alcohol and illicit drugs, however, there is a heightened potential for substance misuse and other undesirable outcomes. Evidence suggests, for example, that people with intellectual disabilities who use alcohol and illicit drugs may be particularly vulnerable to substance abuse (McGillicuddy 2006;Taggart et al 2006), poor outcomes in community living (Cocco & Harper 2002), significant health issues (Jobling & Cuskelly 2006), exploitation (Taggart et al 2006) and offending behaviour (McGillivray & Moore 2001;Lindsay et al 2013). …”