Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy
Abstract
Munchausen syndrome by proxy is one of the most difficult and rare form of child abuse. It carries substantial morbidity and mortality and comprises both physical abuse and medical neglect and is also a form of psychological maltreatment. The diagnosis relies on appropriate suspicion and careful investigation. Early recognition and appropriate intervention prevent further abuse and criminal actions. The fabrication of a pediatric illness is a form of child abuse and not merely a mental health disorder, and there is a possibility of an extremely poor prognosis if the child is left in the home. Certain factors are identified that may help the physician recognize this insidious type of child abuse that occurs in a medical setting, and physicians have to report suspicions to their state's child protective service agency. This paper highlights how Munchausen syndrome by proxy cases is handled.
Munchausen syndrome by proxy: detection, investigation and legal proceedings
Munchausen syndrome-by-Proxy (MSBP), also known as Medical Child Abuse (MCA), is a mental disorder in which a parent (usually the mother) abuses her child by creating or falsifying medical symptoms, or by seeking unnecessary medical care for the child, in order to gain attention and sympathy. In 1998 the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC) reported that the constellation of behaviors generally referred to as Munchausen by Proxy actually includes a pediatric diagnosis of child abuse and a psychiatric diagnosis of the perpetrator. Thus Munchausen by Proxy consists of two perspectives - the pediatric and the psychological; the victim and the perpetrator. From the perspective of the child victim, the diagnosis is Pediatric Condition Falsification (PCF) and is defined as “a form of child maltreatment in which an adult falsifies physical and/or psychological signs and/or symptoms in a victim, causing the victim to be regarded as ill or impaired by others.” From
Munchausen syndrome by proxy is one of the most difficult and rare form of child abuse. It carries substantial morbidity and mortality and comprises both physical abuse and medical neglect and is also a form of psychological maltreatment. The diagnosis relies on appropriate suspicion and careful investigation. Early recognition and appropriate intervention prevent further abuse and criminal actions. The fabrication of a pediatric illness is a form of child abuse and not merely a mental health disorder, and there is a possibility of an extremely poor prognosis if the child is left in the home. Certain factors are identified that may help the physician recognize this insidious type of child abuse that occurs in a medical setting, and physicians have to report suspicions to their state's child protective service agency. This paper highlights how Munchausen syndrome by proxy cases is handled.
Munchausen syndrome by proxy: detection, investigation and legal proceedings
Munchausen syndrome-by-Proxy (MSBP), also known as Medical Child Abuse (MCA), is a mental disorder in which a parent (usually the mother) abuses her child by creating or falsifying medical symptoms, or by seeking unnecessary medical care for the child, in order to gain attention and sympathy. In 1998 the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC) reported that the constellation of behaviors generally referred to as Munchausen by Proxy actually includes a pediatric diagnosis of child abuse and a psychiatric diagnosis of the perpetrator. Thus Munchausen by Proxy consists of two perspectives - the pediatric and the psychological; the victim and the perpetrator. From the perspective of the child victim, the diagnosis is Pediatric Condition Falsification (PCF) and is defined as “a form of child maltreatment in which an adult falsifies physical and/or psychological signs and/or symptoms in a victim, causing the victim to be regarded as ill or impaired by others.” From