Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST)
Looking to screen your patient for potential alcohol use disorders? Then use the Michigan Alcohol Screen Test (MAST) to do so and help determine what to do for your patient!
Fact Checked by RJ Gumban.
What is the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST)?
In a world where socializing often revolves around alcoholic beverages, it's not uncommon for individuals to question their relationship with alcohol. You might have a night out with friends, laughter echoing in the air, and glasses clinking together in celebration. Yet, amid the festivities, have you ever found yourself pondering the thin line between being a regular drinker and potentially grappling with alcohol abuse? The Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST) steps into this narrative, providing a structured and insightful way to assess one's alcohol consumption and its potential consequences.
MAST, designed to be more than just a questionnaire, is a tool that aims to uncover the nuances of an individual's alcohol habits. It delves into scenarios that resonate with countless people, addressing the spectrum of alcohol-related concerns. From the occasional social drinker to those who may have experienced physical fights or encountered legal troubles due to alcohol, MAST covers it all.
It's a tool to check how much and how often someone drinks and also to see if it's causing problems like issues with friends, health troubles such as liver problems, or slowly making someone feel not so good.
The Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST) is one of the alcohol screening tests that healthcare professionals widely use. It is also one of the oldest tests since it was developed back in the 1970s. This test aims to check if a person is at risk of developing an alcohol use disorder (AUD) or if they have signs indicating they already have one.
The MAST Test comes in the form of a questionnaire with twenty-five items. These questions focus on the different aspects of a person's life related to alcohol, such as how often they drink, how much they drink, what happens to them after drinking a lot of alcohol, and if their drinking has impacted aspects of their life, especially their relationships.
Now, twenty-five questions may sound like a lot, but they are simple and straightforward, so it should not take much time to answer them.
Printable Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST)
Download this Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST) to evaluate your client’s feelings of hopelessness.
How to use the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST)
Embarking on a journey of self-discovery and early detection of potential alcohol problems, understanding how to use the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST) is crucial. This section serves as your guide, offering insights on navigating this assessment tool designed to detect subtle signs that might make individuals feel guilty about substance use, setting it apart from other tools and making it invaluable for the general population.
Step 1: Administer the test
Given that the test is a questionnaire, you can administer it in two ways. You can either conduct it like an interview and jot down their answers yourself, or you can hand the patient a copy of the test, have them answer it on their own, and return it to you as soon as they are done.
Whichever you choose, the patient will need to answer each question with a YES or NO. Easy, right?
Step 2: Calculate the total score
The scoring for each section is not standardized. Some answers will score 0, while some will score 1 or 2. Some questions ask about specific incidents and how often they occur, and every time they happen, there will be an additional 2 points.
This version of the MAST Screening Tool includes the assigned points per answer for assessors' convenience.
Step 3: Determine the severity and the next steps
Once you have calculated the total score, here are the points that you need to consider:
- If the patient scores 0-3, they are pretty much normal
- Scoring a 4 is suggestive
- Scoring 5 or more indicates the probability that they are alcoholic substance abusers
- If they score 8 or more, that means the likelihood that they are abusing and are dependent on alcohol is higher
Now, this MAST Assessment is not a diagnostic tool, so the next steps for you to take will depend on the score.
If they scored 0-4, educating them on the matter should suffice. But if they score 5 or more, then the best course of action is to recommend them to a rehabilitation and addiction specialist for further (and comprehensive!) examination to confirm the diagnosis and better define the severity of their (potential) disorder.
After they undergo further examination by an expert, a treatment plan will likely be developed for them. As to what their treatment plan entails, that will depend on the specialist's assessment. They might have to go to therapy (individual or group), go through a rehabilitation program, or be prescribed medication to assist with curbing the alcohol use disorder.
Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST) Example
Now that you know the MAST Test and its use, it is best to know what it looks like, mainly when you or the patient fully accomplishes it. Here is a fully-answered Michigan Alcohol Screening Test sample:
Please note that the answers in this sample were picked with a fictional person in mind for demonstration purposes. If you like what you see here and believe that it will benefit your work, feel free to download a printable MAST Screening Tool via our platform! It also comes with editable portions to indicate the answers, so if you would rather go paperless for your practice, you can use this digitally!
Download this Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST) Example (Sample) here:
When does one typically administer the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST)?
If you are wondering when it is best to administer this test, that depends on the context and who is using it.
Let's say that you are not a healthcare professional and you stumble upon this because you are concerned that you might be developing an alcohol addiction; then, you should take the test yourself and self-report if the scores suggest that you are at risk of developing an alcohol use disorder.
If you are a healthcare professional and someone self-reports themselves to you or is brought by a relative or companion because of suspected alcohol addiction and dependence, then issue this test immediately. The earlier that this test is administered, the better.
This test is also sometimes administered as part of a comprehensive examination. Alcohol use disorder might be part of a much bigger problem, so if professionals are treating a patient for a particular issue and they suspect that alcohol has some connection to it, this can be used to get a more informed opinion.
Who can use the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST) and for whom is it?
Numerous healthcare professionals, including the following, can use the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST):
- Rehabilitation specialists
- Addiction specialists
Earlier, we mentioned that alcohol use disorder may not precisely be an isolated case but can be part of a much bigger problem, so the following professionals may also use this test:
- Primary care physicians
- Nurses
- Therapists
As long as alcohol is contributing to the deterioration of a person's condition, physical and mental, this can be used.
This is ultimately for the patient's benefit because this test will determine if they need a more comprehensive examination to get an official diagnosis. If they are diagnosed with AUD, then the physicians handling the patient will work on a treatment plan and rehabilitation program for the patient to detoxify them and whittle down their addiction until it's completely gone.
Why use Carepatron for rehabilitation-related software?
If you are an addiction specialist or in rehab, you would be delighted to know that Carepatron is a beautiful platform that will help streamline your work!
Using our platform, you will be granted access to a wide variety of worksheets, assessments, surveys, and even general treatment plan templates that will help you examine and treat your patients more comprehensively. The Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST) is but one of many alcohol use disorder screening tools that we have that can help you assess patients who are suspected of having an AUD.
Suppose you use the MAST Screening Tool alongside others like the AUDIT Screening Tool. In that case, you will be able to cover more ground when dealing with your patient, especially if you combine your findings with other results from other worksheets, assessments, etc.
Using Carepatron will also grant you access to a highly secure storage system that allows you to store your clinical documentation in a HIPAA-compliant manner; plus, you get to choose who gets to access these documents besides you!
Fully-accomplished MAST Tests can also be stored here. We highly recommend doing so because you essentially make digital backups of these tests. Having these ready is good, especially if you are monitoring your patients and want to see how far they have come (or not, but hopefully, they are getting better).
Storing them through us makes your documents easily accessible. What we mean by easily accessible is that you can use any capable device, whether a desktop, a laptop, or even a smartphone, to access the documents you stored so long as you have internet access.
Convenience. Accessibility. Security. You get all three with Carepatron.
Commonly asked questions
First of all, if you are acknowledging that you are developing an alcohol addiction, that is good! And yes, you may use this to check on yourself. But if you receive a score that indicates that you do have signs of developing or having an alcohol use disorder, please report this to a professional so you can get diagnosed and receive treatment.
Well, if you happen to be a rehabilitation and addiction specialist, then you don't have to pass them on and can work on conducting further examinations. But if you are not a rehabilitation or addiction specialist, you are advised to recommend the patient to a specialist who can make an official diagnosis. The MAST Test is a screening tool, not a diagnostic tool.
Yes. Other than looking at the total score, you may refer to specific answers to get a good grasp of the patient. There are questions like the following:
Have you ever been in a hospital because of drinking?
- Have you ever lost a job because of your drinking?
- Have you ever been arrested for drunk driving, driving while intoxicated, or driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages or drugs? How many times?
If they answered yes to the questions above and they even indicated how many times they got arrested because of alcohol abuse, those are causes for concern. Even if they scored lower than a good number of other alcoholic patients you have, that does not necessarily mean they are better off than the other patients.
