Construct validity of the MAST and AUDIT with multiple offender drunk drivers

The construct validity of the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST) and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) in screening for current DSM-IV alcohol dependence disorders with persons convicted of multiple offenses of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) is evaluated. These tests were administered to 126 DUI offenders presenting for court-ordered inpatient treatment at an agency. DSM-IV alcohol disorders are evaluated for a representative subset of clients in this program using National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Surveys' DSM-IV Alcohol Dependence Diagnostic Criteria and Associated Questionnaire Items. Both instruments exhibit acceptable internal consistency. The MAST and The AUDIT correlate moderately well with each other (r = 0.617). The MAST correlates more highly (r = 0.602) than the AUDIT (r = 0.432) with DSM-IV. Future research should examine if the results reported here apply to other multiple offender DUI programs. It is recommended that such programs employing test instruments evaluate their construct validity in a similar method. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.