Maunchausen's Syndrome

Objective Summary of Psychology Today article on Mauncausen by proxy.

Munchausen by proxy is a form of child abuse where a parent exaggerates a child's symptoms or actually induces an illness so they can gain attention and/or a special bond with the doctor. (Weintraub 82). Munchausen's syndrome is a controversial disorder that sometimes does not have any evidence that the parent really suffers from it. Usually the syndrome shows up when the parent wants to look like the 'perfect' parent and be valued by the doctor for taking care of their child through rough times. Unlike most forms of child abuse, Munchausen by proxy is not caused by incompetence, anger or neglect. Sometimes MBP is even wrongly diagnosed because of a disagreement between parent and doctor and is said to be widely over diagnosed.

When testing for Munchausen's syndrome a few different tests are used. Patients medical and psychological records are examined, statistics are used, video surveillance is recorded and the "separation test" is also utilized. The "separation test" is a test were the child is removed from a suspect parent and monitored for improvement. (Weintrumb 84.) Even though the syndrome has not had a formal diagnosis in the American Psychiatric Association's diagnostic bible, the DSM-IV, it is still a widely known epidemic. There isn't any diagnostic tool, since it is a spectrum disorder with many different opinions, treatments, and diagnostic titles. This is a reason why there are so many accusations of the disease. (Weintrumb 88).

The effects of munchausen by proxy can cause many children to be sick and develop physically and mentally slower than the average child. It can also cause a child to develop a phobia where they are very untrusting and either overly scared of getting sick, or have a desire to stay ill since it is all that they know. Children may also develop