Everybody Is…Drinking! Interpretation Bias in Problematic Drinkers with and without Mild to Borderline Intellectual Disability

Background: Problematic alcohol use is characterized by disrupted associative processing of environmental clues, where problematic drinkers interpret ambiguous, alcohol-relevant clues in an alcohol-related way. The present study examined the strength of this interpretation bias in a large sample (N = 230) of light and problematic drinkers with and without mild to borderline intellectual disability (MBID, IQ 50-85). Method: All participants were asked to finish 24 open-ended, ambiguous scenarios with their first, spontaneous response. Results: Consistent with the hypothesis, problematic drinkers with and without MBID were found to have an interpretation bias toward alcohol. The difference in the strength of the bias between light and problematic drinkers was strongest for negative scenarios. Participants with MBID showed a stronger interpretation bias compared to participants without MBID, especially on the negative scenarios. Conclusion: Problematic drinkers tend to interpret ambiguous, alcohol-relevant clues in an alcohol-related way and this tendency increases with higher levels of alcohol use-related problems. These results extend our knowledge on substance use disorder and provide new lines of inquiry for the assessment and treatment of problematic alcohol use in individuals with MBID.