Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy Variant of Child Abuse in the Family Courts

• NCJ Number: 133376
• Journal: Juvenile and Family Court Journal Volume: 42 Issue: 3 Dated: (1991) Pages: 51-57
• Author(s): B C Yorker; B B Kahan
• Date Published: 1991
• Length: 7 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Best Practice/State-of-the-Art Review
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSBP) is the term used to describe parental fabrication of illness in a child for the purpose of gaining medical attention.

Abstract

Child protective service workers and medical examiners may be quite unaware of the possibility that a mother who appears concerned and attached to her child(ren) might be inducing medical conditions that are life-threatening. Most professionals are attuned to a certain profile of abusive parents and to the well-documented battered child syndrome. The signs and symptoms of MSBP must become familiar and identifiable, just as signs and symptoms of sexual abuse have become widely understood by professionals who work with children. Legal guidelines for searches and seizures, covert video-surveillance, and appropriate risk management should be instituted in health care settings. Judges and attorneys who prosecute child abuse cases must be aware of the atypical presentation of MSBP perpetrators. Aggressive but minimally confrontational interventions must be implemented when MSBP is suspected, particularly in nonlethal forms of MSBP or when firm evidence is not obtainable. 16 references