Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST)

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.

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.

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.

What are the benefits of using the Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST)

It's easy to use and quick to answer.

This test is easy to administer because of its questionnaire format. Even if there are twenty-five questions to answer, the questionnaire does not ask for more than a YES or NO answer, other than several times specific incidents happened about the patient's use of alcohol.

It can, more or less, be accomplished within ten minutes!

It can help curb the potential alcohol use disorder early.

Since this is a screening tool, the test has the potential to detect the early signs of alcohol addiction and dependence. Once you receive a fully accomplished test and the patient scores something higher than 5, high enough to say that they are definitely at risk for an AUD but not high enough to say that the signs are wrong, then you can recommend them to a specialist immediately to have them evaluated, diagnosed, and treated before the signs worsen.

Specialists who handle them after you will be better prepared.

The next significant step after this test is to recommend the patient to a specialist for further examination to get an official diagnosis. The answers, even if they are YES or NO, should serve as preliminary information that helps with the comprehensive assessment of the patient and may help the specialists develop tailor-fitted treatment plans for said patient.