title: Oral drug dependence: intellectual characteristics of patients receiving  treatment at a London drug dependence unit.
abstract: Patients dependent upon orally abused drugs have received less research attention than have other drug dependent groups. This paper reports a study of the intellectual characteristics of such individuals. Fifty-eight subjects completed the Mill Hill and Progressive Matrices IQ tests, and the Wechsler Tests (WAIS or WISC) were also administered to 36 of these. The results which were analysed separately for males and females show scores which are within the normal range. One unusual finding, that female oral drug dependents have a deficient performance IQ score, is discussed, but no satisfactory explanation for this available and further research of this issue is suggested. The implications of the results for clinical psychological assessment and rehabilitation of drug abusers are discussed.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008131:London; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders; D014888:Wechsler Scales