MAST questionnaire

The MAST is a 24-item screening instrument originally described by Selzer .

• it was developed to detect severe alcohol dependence, including early signs of dependence
• has been extensively used in research and treatment circles over the years (1)

MAST questionnaire

1. Do you feel you are a normal drinker?
2. Have you ever wakened the morning after drinking the night before and found that you could not remember a part of the evening?
3. Does your wife, husband, a parent, or other near relative ever worry or complain about your drinking?
4. Can you stop drinking without a struggle after one or two drinks?
5. Do you ever feel guilty about your drinking?
6. Do relatives or friends think you are a normal drinker?
7. Are you able to stop drinking when you want to?
8. Have you ever attended a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous?
9. Have you ever gotten into physical fights when drinking?
10. Has drinking ever created a problem between you and your wife, husband, a parent, or other near relative?
11. Has your wife, husband, a parent, or other near relative ever gone to anyone for help about your drinking?
12. Have you ever lost friends because of drinking?
13. Have you ever got into trouble at work because of drink?
14. Have you ever lost a job because of drinking?
15. Have you ever neglected obligations,your familiy, or your work for 2 or more days in a row through drink?
16. Do you drink before noon fairly often?
17. Have you ever been told you have liver trouble? Cirrhosis?
18. Have you ever had delirium tremens (DTs), severe shaking, heard voices, or seen things that were not there after heavy drinking?
19. Have you ever gone to anyone for help about your drinking?
20. Have you ever been in hospital because of your drinking?
21. Have you ever been a patient in a psychiatric hospital or on a psychiatric ward of a general hospital where drinking was part of the problem that resulted in hospitalisation?
22. Have you ever been seen at a psychiatric or mental health clinic or gone to any doctor, social worker, or clergyman for help with any emotional problem, where drinking was part of the problem?
23. Have you ever been arrested for drunken driving, driving while intoxicated, or driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages?
24. Have you ever been arrested for drunken driving, driving while intoxicated, or driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages?

Scoring

• “YES” answer on
  • items 3, 5, 9 and 16 are scored as 1
  • items 1,2,4,6,7,10–15, 17,18, 21–24 are scored as a 2
  • items 8,19 and 20 are scored as 5
• the total score is 53.
• a cut-off score of 13 is considered as have adequate sensitivity and specificity in identifying individuals meeting diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse and dependence (2)

Although it may be as efficient for the detection of alcohol dependence, it is inferior to the AUDIT for the detection of hazardous and harmful consumption (1)
A shortened version (13-items) of the MAST, (SMAST), is used as a self-administered screening instrument

Reference:

• (1) The National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA) 2006. Review of the Effectiveness of Treatment for Alcohol Problems