Chapter 10, Problem 1Q-P319

Summary Introduction

Introduction

Manchausen syndrome by proxy, also commonly referred to as medical child abuse, is a fictitious disorder in which the person inflicts injury upon another person or makes up fake symptoms to make the person appear ill. A common scenario where this disorder is visible is where mothers try to use their own children as a victim and make the child sick. This disorder is regarded as a criminal offence, which is deliberate and directed to cause serious harm to the child.

Explanation of Solution

Suggested response

Manchausen syndrome by proxy is a fairly rare form of fictitious disorder where the person intentionally inflicts pain or illness on another person, in most cases a child. Although, the cause of this disorder is hard to determine, the perpetrator has certain characteristics which make them more prone to developing this disorder such as, attention seeking behavior, emotional neediness, or need to appear self-sacrificing to others.

The country laws regard this is a deliberate crime, which is done to consciously inflict harm on another person who is usually a child in most cases. However, by understanding and treating this disorder as any other psychiatric disorder, more insight, into what causes it, can be developed.

Several studies have suggested an association between the attachment styles of the perpetrator and the Manchausen syndrome by proxy. It was observed that most of the people who had been accused of inflicting illness upon their own children were mothers who had insecure or ambivalent attachment styles. Their parents had been erratic, negligent, cold, or even abusive in many cases, ;which made the person insecurely attached to their parents and children. Therefore, these perpetrators seem to be repeating the patterns of behavior they had learnt by observing their own parents.

Another theory suggests that some children are brought up in households where illness, injury and suffering are ways to get other people's affection and attention. They observed their parents faking illness in order to get attention from physicians or nurses. Such children may learn to adopt the same perception and beliefs about illness, which might contribute to them developing this fictitious disorder.

Therefore, Manchausen syndrome by proxy, like any other psychiatric illness, has certain underlying causes which can be identified in order to help create awareness among people. This can help in preventing this problem from spreading. Factors like childhood abuse, faulty parenting, and households where illness helps in getting emotional needs met, might be behind the development of this fictitious disorder. This should be treated as any other psychological problem that has certain causes.