MAST Michigan Alcohol Screening Test

MAST Michigan Alcohol Screening Test Addiction Alcohol Use Print The Michigan Alcohol Screening Test By Buddy T facebook twitter Buddy T is an anonymous writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism. Learn about our editorial policy Buddy T Updated on February 03, 2020 John Fedele / Getty Images More in Addiction Alcohol Use Binge Drinking Withdrawal and Relapse Children of Alcoholics Drunk Driving Addictive Behaviors Drug Use Nicotine Use Coping and Recovery Developed in 1971, the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST) is one of the oldest and most accurate alcohol screening tests available.?? Questions on the MAST test relate to the patients self-appraisal of social, vocational, and family problems frequently associated with heavy drinking. The test was developed to screen for alcohol problems in the general population. Drawbacks There are two drawbacks to the MAST test, compared with other alcohol screening tests available today. The length of the test makes it less convenient to administer in a busy primary care office or emergency room setting, compared to the shorter four- or five-question tests available. The questions on the MAST test also focus on problems over the patients lifetime, rather than on current problems. This means the test is less likely to detect alcohol problems in the early stages. Over the years, there have been several variations of the MAST developed, including the brief MAST, the short MAST, as well as the self-administered MAST. The following is the 22-question, self-administered MAST. The MAST Test The MAST Test is a simple, self-scoring test that helps assess if you have a drinking problem. Answer yes or no to the following questions: 1. Do you feel you are a normal drinker? (normal is defined as drinking as much or less than most other people) ___ Yes      ___ No 2. Have you ever awakened the morning after drinking the night before and found that you could not remember a part of the evening? ___ Yes      ___ No 3. Does any near relative or close friend ever worry or complain about your drinking? ___ Yes      ___ No 4. Can you stop drinking without difficulty after one or two drinks? ___ Yes      ___ No 5. Do you ever feel guilty about your drinking? ___ Yes      ___ No 6. Have you ever attended a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)? ___ Yes      ___ No 7. Have you ever gotten into physical fights when drinking? ___ Yes      ___ No 8. Has drinking ever created problems between you and a near relative or close friend? ___ Yes      ___ No 9. Has any family member or close friend gone to anyone for help about your drinking? ___ Yes      ___ No 10. Have you ever lost friends because of your drinking? ___ Yes      ___ No 11. Have you ever gotten into trouble at work because of drinking? ___ Yes      ___ No 12. Have you ever lost a job because of drinking? ___ Yes      ___ No 13. Have you ever neglected your obligations, family, or work for two or more days in a row because you were drinking? ___ Yes      ___ No 14. Do you drink before noon fairly often? ___ Yes      ___ No 15. Have you ever been told you have liver trouble, such as cirrhosis? ___ Yes      ___ No 16. After heavy drinking, have you ever had delirium tremens (DTs), severe shaking, visual or auditory (hearing) hallucinations? ___ Yes      ___ No 17. Have you ever gone to anyone for help with your drinking? ___ Yes      ___ No 18. Have you ever been hospitalized because of drinking? ___ Yes      ___ No 19. Has your drinking ever resulted in your being hospitalized in a psychiatric ward? ___ Yes      ___ No 20. Have you ever gone to any doctor, social worker, clergyman, or mental health clinic for help with any emotional problem in which drinking was part of the problem? ___ Yes      ___ No 21. Have you been arrested more than once for driving under the influence of alcohol? ___ Yes      ___ No 22. Have you ever been arrested, or detained by an official for a few hours, because of other behavior while drinking? ___ Yes      ___ No Scoring Score one point if you answered no to the following questions: 1 or 4. Score one point if you answered yes to the following questions: 2, 3, 5 through 22. A total score of six or more indicates hazardous drinking or alcohol dependence and further evaluation by a healthcare professional is recommended. Do you think you may have a drinking problem? Take the online alcohol abuse screening quiz.