Search results for ‘Subject term:"fabricated or induced illness"’ Sort:
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Psychopathology of perpetrators of fabricated or induced illness in children: case series
- Authors:
- BASS Christopher, JONES David
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Psychiatry, 199(2), August 2011, pp.113-118.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Munchausen's syndrome by proxy is a rare form of child abuse. However, little is known about the psychopathology of the perpetrators. This paper investigated the medical, psychiatric, social work and forensic records of mothers referred for detailed psychiatric assessment from 1996 to 2009. Participants included 28 individuals with a diagnosis of fabricated or induced illness were referred to the authors for detailed psychiatric assessment. Findings revealed that 57% had evidence of a current somatoform disorder, and factitious disorders were identified in 64%. There was evidence of pathological lying in 61%. A chronic somatoform disorder or factitious disorder was detected in almost two-thirds of the participants. Over half of the mothers exhibited pathological lying, in some dating from adolescence, and this often continued into adult life. The authors concluded that psychiatrists should always be aware of the potential impact of these illnesses on any dependent children.
Attachment representations in mothers with abnormal illness behaviour by proxy
- Authors:
- ADSHEAD Gwen, BLUGLASS Kerry
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Psychiatry, 187(4), October 2005, pp.328-333.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Abnormal illness behaviour by proxy (also known as factitious illness by proxy or Munchhausen syndrome by proxy) is a type of child maltreatment, the origins of which are poorly understood. This article describes attachment representations in a cohort of mothers demonstrating abnormal illness behaviour by proxy. Sixty-seven mothers who had shown this behaviour took part in a semistructured interview assessing their attachment representations. Only 12 mothers (18%) were rated secure in terms of their own childhood attachments. There was evidence of unresolved trauma or loss reactions in 40 mothers (60%). Eighteen mothers (27%) gave unusually disorganised and incoherent accounts of attachment relationships in their own childhoods. The frequency of these attachment categories is higher than in normal non-clinical samples. Insecure attachment is a risk factor for this type of child maltreatment. Therapeutic interventions could be offered in relation to unresolved traumatic stress or bereavement responses. Further study of similar groups, such as mothers with sick children or mothers with histories of traumatic experience, would be a useful next step.
Fabricated or induced illness in children: a rare form of child abuse?
- Authors:
- LAZENBATT Anne, TAYLOR Julie
- Publisher:
- National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 25p.
- Place of publication:
- London
This report reviews the literature on fabricated or induced illness (FII), a form of child abuse where a child is presented for medical attention with symptoms or signs which have been fabricated or induced by the child's carer, also known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy. Manifestations of FII can be seen in schools, churches, the legal system, child protection agencies, the home, and the community at large. This briefing looks at the findings from research on the prevalence of FII, what is known about the carers who fabricate or induce illness in their child and the risks to the child. It also considers the difficulties in recognising FII and the management of a situation where FII is diagnosed. The reported severe or most dramatic events are usually seen in children under the age of 5 years. Recognition of fabricated or induced illness depends, in the first instance, on medical or paediatric clarification of the objective state of the child’s health. Affected children also live in a fabricated sick role and may eventually go on to somatise or simulate illness themselves and be diagnosed with hypochondria. Implications for practice and policy are presented.
Munchausen syndrome by proxy: implications for professional practice in relation to children's education
- Author:
- JENNENS Roger
- Journal article citation:
- Child Care in Practice, 15(4), October 2009, pp.299-311.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This article discusses the wider implications of a pattern of behaviour in which a parent, usually the mother, persistently presents a false story of illness or disability in the child. The parent may deliberately produce symptoms of illness; the child may be exposed to unnecessary and damaging medical investigations and treatments; the child's participation in education and social life may be unnecessarily limited; and the child may develop a view of themselves as disabled. The literature includes a small number of cases where members of school staff, psychologists and education administrators have faced persistent but fabricated claims of illness, disability or learning difficulty needing special educational provision. Identifying such fabrication presents professionals with emotional as well as practical challenges. The notion that a mother might deliberately fabricate or provoke symptoms of illness or disability in her child is in itself hard to accept. Strongly-held, polarised views can be generated between those professionals who defend particular mothers and those who suspect them. There may be aspects of special educational needs law and practice that add to the difficulties faced by practitioners needing to distinguish between benign parental advocacy and malign fabrication. Some tentative suggestions are offered about how practitioners can be alert to possible cases of fabrication; and about how our knowledge about educational manifestations of fabrication might be refined.
Fabricated or induced illness by carers (FII): a practical guide for paediatricians
- Author:
- ROYAL COLLEGE OF PAEDIATRICS AND CHILD HEALTH
- Publisher:
- Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
- Publication year:
- 2009
- Pagination:
- 54p.
- Place of publication:
- London
Fabricated or Induced Illness by Carers (FII) can cause significant harm to children. FII involves a well child being presented by a parent or carer as ill or disabled, or an ill or disabled child being presented with a more significant problem than he or she has in reality, and suffering harm as a consequence. The document replaces the 2002 edition, providing updated guidance for paediatricians and aiming to encourage earlier recognition and an optimal response by improving the competence and confidence of paediatricians who encounter FII. It sets out the specific responsibilities of paediatricians working within the multi-agency framework as specified by Local Safeguarding Children Boards in relation to children who may be subject to FII. The document starts by looking at the background and epidemiology of FII, and its effect on children. It then looks at how a paediatrician should recognise FII, manage a case before and after the strategy discussion, and when to refer to Children’s Social Care. The document also looks at how to work with children and families, and finally deals with record keeping and training. Five examples are outlined, describing carers’ anxiety, misperceptions and abnormal beliefs, carers’ psychiatric illness, the unrecognised genuine medical problem, and presentations where the carer has genuinely fabricated or induced illness in their child.
Fabricated or induced illness in children: the role of frontline social workers in recognition, intervention and decision making
- Author:
- PRECEY Gretchen
- Journal article citation:
- Seen and Heard, 31(1), 2021, pp.41-55.
- Publisher:
- NAGALRO
- Place of publication:
- Esher
Fabricated or induced illness (FII) in children, formerly referred to as Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, occurs when the parent (almost always the mother) deliberately but duplicitously seeks to render the child's medical condition, and increasingly their behavioural presentation as well, to be worse than is actually in in order meet her own needs. This article looks particularly at the roles of the social worker in identifying and assessing this very disturbing form of child maltreatment and discusses the necessity, and challenges, of taking a multi-agency approach if the child is to be protected. There is particular emphasis on the focus of work where FII is a concern being what is happening for the child due to the mother's behaviour, rather than seeking to establish whether she should be considered a perpetrator or not. Attention is given to the characteristics often associated with FII in both the mother and child and what forms the mother's behaviour towards the child might take. There is particular reference to the social work task in working directly with the family, but also interactions with what can be a complex network of professionals. Finally, there is discussion about decision-making in situations where FII is identified and the implications for rehabilitation of the child, or the safety of children born subsequently to child protection interventions having been made. (Edited publisher abstract)