OBJECTIVE: The Brief Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (bMAST) is a 10-item test derived from the 25-item Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST). It is widely used in the assessment of alcohol dependence. In the absence of previous validation studies, the principal aim of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the bMAST as a measure of the severity of problem drinking. METHOD: There were 6,594 patients (4,854 men, 1,740 women) who had been referred for alcohol-use disorders to a hospital alcohol and drug service who voluntarily participated in this study. RESULTS: An exploratory factor analysis defined a two-factor solution, consisting of Perception of Current Drinking and Drinking Consequences factors. Structural equation modeling confirmed that the fit of a nine-item, two-factor model was superior to the original one-factor model. Concurrent validity was assessed through simultaneous administration of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and associations with alcohol consumption and clinically assessed features of alcohol dependence. The two-factor bMAST model showed moderate correlations with the AUDIT. The two-factor bMAST and AUDIT were similarly associated with quantity of alcohol consumption and clinically assessed dependence severity features. No differences were observed between the existing weighted scoring system and the proposed simple scoring system. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, both the existing bMAST total score and the two-factor model identified were as effective as the AUDIT in assessing problem drinking severity. There are additional advantages of employing the two-factor bMAST in the assessment and treatment planning of patients seeking treatment for alcohol-use disorders.
OBJECTIVE: The Brief Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (bMAST) is a 10-item test derived from the 25-item Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST). It is widely used in the assessment of alcohol dependence. In the absence of previous validation studies, the principal aim of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the bMAST as a measure of the severity of problem drinking. METHOD: There were 6,594 patients (4,854 men, 1,740 women) who had been referred for alcohol-use disorders to a hospital alcohol and drug service who voluntarily participated in this study. RESULTS: An exploratory factor analysis defined a two-factor solution, consisting of Perception of Current Drinking and Drinking Consequences factors. Structural equation modeling confirmed that the fit of a nine-item, two-factor model was superior to the original one-factor model. Concurrent validity was assessed through simultaneous administration of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and associations with alcohol consumption and clinically assessed features of alcohol dependence. The two-factor bMAST model showed moderate correlations with the AUDIT. The two-factor bMAST and AUDIT were similarly associated with quantity of alcohol consumption and clinically assessed dependence severity features. No differences were observed between the existing weighted scoring system and the proposed simple scoring system. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, both the existing bMAST total score and the two-factor model identified were as effective as the AUDIT in assessing problem drinking severity. There are additional advantages of employing the two-factor bMAST in the assessment and treatment planning of patients seeking treatment for alcohol-use disorders.
Authors: Michelle A Anderson; Venkata Akshintala; Kathryn M Albers; Stephen T Amann; Inna Belfer; Randall Brand; Suresh Chari; Greg Cote; Brian M Davis; Luca Frulloni; Andres Gelrud; Nalini Guda; Abhinav Humar; Rodger A Liddle; Adam Slivka; Rachelle Stopczynski Gupta; Eva Szigethy; Jyothsna Talluri; Wahid Wassef; C Mel Wilcox; John Windsor; Dhiraj Yadav; David C Whitcomb Journal: Pancreatology Date: 2015-11-11 Impact factor: 3.996
Authors: Wahid Wassef; John DeWitt; Kathleen McGreevy; Mel Wilcox; David Whitcomb; Dhiraj Yadav; Stephen Amann; Girish Mishra; Samer Alkaade; Joseph Romagnuolo; Tyler Stevens; John Vargo; Timothy Gardner; Vikesh Singh; Walter Park; Celia Hartigan; Bruce Barton; Carol Bova Journal: Am J Gastroenterol Date: 2016-06-14 Impact factor: 10.864