Further, validity estimates of the MAST were found to be higher in psychiatric samples that had a greater proportion of women and in samples that exhibited higher base rates of alcohol-use disorder. However, sensitivity estimates were found to be of greater magnitude than specificity estimates. Using clinically determined alcohol-related diagnosis as a criterion, a meta-analytic integration of nine published studies investigating the criterion validity of the MAST in psychiatric settings is presented.įindings revealed that the MAST is significantly valid when used in psychiatric settings. Therefore, the major goals of this investigation were (1) to integrate the available information pertaining to the validity of the MAST when used in psychiatric settings, and (2) to investigate factors that may moderate the performance of the MAST. However, due to a large variation in reports of findings and conclusions, a clear understanding of the utility of the MAST in psychiatric settings continues to be elusive.
The Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST) has been the most commonly evaluated self-report alcohol assessment tool in psychiatric settings.
Assessment of alcohol-related problems is essential in psychiatric settings.
