MAST: Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test

Overview

Survey Doctor's MAST uses 24 required yes-or-no questions and a weighted 0-to-53 total about lifetime alcohol-related experiences. The current wording combines more than one published lineage and omits event-count follow-ups found on some forms. Its score is specific to this product form. It does not identify current drinking or diagnose alcohol use disorder.

Lifetime history is not current severity.

Form and edition boundary

Selzer's 1971 publication introduced the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test. Later versions changed item count, wording, follow-up fields, and interpretation.

The PAR technical history distinguishes a 25-question original from a 24-question revised form that omits one unscored question. It also documents wording revisions and event-count follow-ups after three endorsed questions. A SAMHSA-hosted appendix reproduces another 25-question lineage.

Survey Doctor's current 24-question text mixes wording from several reproductions. It has no event-count fields. No reviewed source matches the full combination of its wording, response shape, and legacy score labels.

Edition determines meaning.

How Survey Doctor scores the form

Each answer carries 0, 1, 2, or 5 points. Four questions are reverse keyed, so their No answer contributes two points. The remaining weighted responses add points when endorsed.

All 24 answers are required. The product sums their stored values into a total from 0 to 53. It does not calculate a separate unit-weighted total or retain the optional event counts described by PAR.

The weights are arithmetic. They do not prove that one experience is more serious than another for a particular person.

Weights need context.

Cutoff and label limits

MAST classification rules have changed across publications. PAR summarizes one tradition as 0-4, 5-6, and 7-53. Other studies proposed different cutpoints or subdivisions for their own samples and purposes.

Cutoffs change too.

Survey Doctor's definition retains older 0-4, 5-6, 7-20, and 21-53 labels. The reviewed sources do not establish the 21-point split for this hybrid form. Current result, report, and export paths therefore withhold all MAST total labels and preserve the numeric score only.

Only numbers remain.

Do not use the total as a treatment rule. A low number cannot rule out a current concern, and a high lifetime total can reflect events that happened years ago.

What the questions cover

The form asks about perceived control, other people's concerns, memory loss, health experiences, help-seeking, work, relationships, and legal consequences. These topics do not form separate scored domains.

Several answers can describe a past period that has ended. The questionnaire does not ask enough about current quantity, frequency, timing, or withdrawal risk to establish present status.

Review when each endorsed event occurred.

Timing restores context.

Choosing a current alcohol screen

The MAST is not interchangeable with shorter or more recent alcohol questionnaires.

Purpose shapes choice.

Use current drinking history alongside any lifetime score. Do not convert totals between forms or place them on one trend line.

Keep measures separate.

For a reader-focused guide, see what your MAST score means.

When to seek help

You do not need a particular MAST score to ask about alcohol. Bring the answers, their timing, and current drinking pattern to a qualified provider.

NIAAA guidance warns that suddenly stopping after prolonged heavy drinking can cause dangerous withdrawal. Seek medical help to plan a safe change if that may apply. This risk depends on current use and health, not on a lifetime MAST total.

Important limits

• The current form is not attributable to one exact MAST edition
• Missing follow-up fields cannot be reconstructed from the total
• Manual or imported score-only records do not establish item completeness or edition
• Repeated scores can continue to reflect remote events
• The total should not drive legal, employment, disability, or other high-stakes decisions by itself