What´s Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy?

We always hear about child abuse cases that involve neglect, sexual, emotional, verbal, or physical abuse but rarely ever about Munchausen Syndrome by proxy. Gosselin (2009) defines Munchausen Syndrome by proxy as diagnosing an individual who intentionally plans and conceals his or her abusive behaviors, which may include suffocating a child or demanding painful medical tests and procedures for the child. Abuse cases such as Munchausen Syndrome by proxy is another form of abuse often done to children who are under the age of six years old. Individuals that have established this type of condition give their children the same type of lifestyle, as any other abused children would get. Child abuse can play a huge role on an individual as they

Rand (n.d.) states, in most cases it can start off with a complex emotional abuse and then progress into more intense abuse overtime. In severe cases, the perpetrator then advances into physical abuse that may or may not include closed fist or shoving of some sort but more so of harming the child by letting him or her undergo surgeries and unnecessary test that are painful and dangerous (Rand, n.d.). Gosselin (2009) mentions, “common methods of fabricating illness are lying, poisoning either with drugs or with other substances, suffocation, specimen tampering, and chart falsification.” This can often lead to the death of a child for some cases. An estimated 9 to 31 percent of victims of Munchausen syndrome by proxy die as a result of the abuse (Gosselin, 2009, p.

It affects them as a person and can be interference in their relationship with family, friends and even intimate partners. “Survivors often experience conflictual relationships and chaotic lifestyles, frequently report difficulties forming adult intimate attachments and display behaviours that threaten and disrupt close relationships” (Impact of Child Abuse, n.d.). When a victim overcomes their abuse, they will then have a major transition known as turning; when they take on a new set of roles, enters into fresh relationships with a new set of people and achieves a new self-concept (Gosselin, 2009, p 146). Gosselin (2009) mentions that a study states that two-thirds of the children who were abused did not grow up to become abusers to their own children. Resiliency is a big factor that determines how a victim reacts to the abuse and how they handle it in their