Munchausen syndrome by proxy: A family affair

Mehl, Albert L.; Coble, L.E.; Johnson, Scott

doi:10.1016/0145-2134(90)90105-3

Cited by 31 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The most common presenting complaints in many series are sei¬ zures. 16 However, other common symptoms, including apnea, ataxia, nystagmus, and headache19"21 are com¬ plaints where otolaryngologists would commonly see the patients on a consultant basis.…”

Section: Definition Of Abusementioning

confidence: 99%

Physical Abuse of Children: A Retrospective Review and an Otolaryngology Perspective

Willging

Bower²,

Cotton³

1992

Archives of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery

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Section: Definition Of Abusementioning

confidence: 99%

Physical Abuse of Children: A Retrospective Review and an Otolaryngology Perspective

Willging

Bower²,

Cotton³

1992

Archives of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery

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“…The high amount of personality disorders also observed in the caretakers here could be the reason for the often reported failure of psychotherapeutic interventions (e. g., Mehl et al, 1990). In addition, three of the four mothers had had schizophrenic episodes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…This is in accordance with other studies in which it was possible to detect Munchausen syndrome in children's mothers by studying case histories of family members. Siblings were also often referred to the practioner or hospital with similar symptoms or there were reports from sudden infant death syndromes (Mehl et al, 1990;Light & Sheridan, 1990). The number of fathers as the cause of factitious illness is usually small, but in one of the here reported children the father was directly involved in the interaction.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Munchausen syndrome by proxy and factitious illness: Symptomatology, parent-child interaction, and psychopathology of the parents

Ammermann¹,

Klein²,

Schmidt

1995

European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

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The term Munchausen syndrome by proxy is used to diagnose children presenting symptoms of an organic disorder resulting from manipulations initiated by their caretakers. Even in early infancy it happens that injuries are induced, and that drugs, poisons or medicine are administered in order to provoke and feign clinical symptoms of severe diseases. Exact data on prevalence are not available but it is obvious that Munchausen syndrome by proxy is a rare psychiatric disorder. There is a body of evidence that Munchausen syndrome by proxy is nothing but the extreme of a broader clinical entity for which the term factitious illness has been introduced. In this group children are included whose mothers invent a history of disease in order to produce symptoms without actually damaging their children. It is not well established whether such a distinction is necessary and whether there are differences in long-term outcome. Onset of symptoms is as early as three weeks up to twelve years, and mean age of diagnosis according to a more comprehensive study is 3 1/4 year. The estimated mortality rate of children with Munchausen syndrome by proxy is 9 percent. In three of the four cases of children reported here clinical presentations were dominated by symptoms of central nervous disorders. All mothers showed unsure and inconsistent parental behaviour and inefficient coping. None of them received support from their partners, if present. In interaction the children always wanted to dominate their mothers. The high amount of personality disorders observed in the caretakers might be the reason for the often reported failure of psychotherapeutic interventions.

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“…From the reported literature [1], mothers with multiple Munchausen syndrome by proxy were more likely to be behaviorally or psychologically abnormal than those who have committed MSBP to one child. Most of these mothers had a history of marital problems, psychiatric disturbance, and suicide attempt [1,8,9]. Mothers of children affected by MSBP may be diagnosed as having Munchausen syndrome in up to 20% of cases and those are less likely to respond to aggressive psychotherapy [6,9].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%