Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test: Evidence Supporting General as Well as Specific Factors

Abstract

A SECONDOR factor analysis was performed on the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST) items endorsed by 200 repeat driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) offenders and nonviolent felony offenders. The result of the factor analysis showed a higher-order general factor measuring general alcohol dependence as well as several more primary dimensions of alcohol abuse and/or alcoholism such as (a) psychoactive substance dependence, (b) denial, (c) antisocial drinker, (d) discord, and (e) vocational impairment. Thompson's SECONDOR factor solution provides empirical support for the literary controversy that the MAST measures both unidimensional and multidimensional signs and symptoms of alcoholism.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

American Psychiatric Association. (1987). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders-III-R (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Connors, G. J. , & Tarbox, A. R. (1985). Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test. In D. J. Keyser & R. C. Sweetland (Eds.), Test critiques: Volume 3 (pp.439-445). Kansas City, MO: Westport.

Gorsuch, R. L. (1983). Factor analysis (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Saunders.

Hedlund, J. L. , & Vieweg, B. W. (1984). The Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST): A comprehensive review. Journal of Operational Psychiatry, 15, 55-64.

Schmid, J. , & Leiman, J. (1957). The development of hierarchical factor solutions. Psychometrica, 22, 53-61.

Selzer, M. L. (1971). The Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test: The quest for a new diagnostic instrument. American Journal of Psychiatry, 127(12), 89-94.

Skinner, H. A. (1979). A multivariate evaluation of the MAST. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 40, 831-844.

Thompson, B. (1990). SECONDOR: A program that computes a second-order principal components analysis and various interpretation aids. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 50, 575-580.

Zung, B. J. (1978). Factor structure of the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 39, 56-67.

10.

Zung, B. J. (1980). Factor structure of the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST) in a psychiatric outpatient population. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 36, 1024-1030.