The Diagnosis of Alcoholism in a Psychiatric Hospital: A Trial of the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST)

In this study the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST) was given to 400 adult psychiatric inpatients in order to test its capacity for distinguishing between alcoholic and nonalcoholic patients. Thirty percent of the total population—50 percent of the men and 22 percent of the women—scored in the alcoholism range. The correlation with the attending psychiatrists' opinions was 78 percent. Of 128 diagnosed problem drinkers, the test missed only two.