Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy

A mental disorder, or illness, is defined as “a mental… condition marked primarily by sufficient disorganization of personality, mind, and emotions to seriously impair the normal psychological functioning of the individual” (Merriam & Webster, 2014). Mental illness affects approximately 1 of 4 people in the United States over the age of 18, or 26.2%. Of that 26.2%, six percent of them suffer from a mental disorder that is considered serious and 45% of them have characteristics that meet the criteria for more than one mental disorder. On any given day, 6.7% of United States citizens are suffering from depression, 1.5% are suffering from dysthymic disorder, 2.6% are exhibiting signs and symptoms of bipolar disorder, 1.1% are diagnosed with schizophrenia, 18.1% are suffering from anxiety, and 13.8% of the population are battling conditions such as eating disorders, attention deficient hyperactivity disorder, or a personality disorder (National Institute of Mental Health, 2014).
Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy is another mental illness that effects anywhere from 1 in 1 million to 2.8 in 100,000 people. Munchausen syndrome by Proxy is classified as a rare, often misdiagnosed, form of child abuse in which the mother, or caregiver, purposely creates or falsifies an illness related to their child to maintain prolonged contact with health care providers. The DSM-IV gives Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy the label of “factitious disorder by proxy” and the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children labels this disorder as “pediatric condition falsification” (Criddle, 2010).
The name Munchausen was derived from an 1800’s German aristocrat by the name of Karl Friedrich Hieronymus Freiherr von Munchhausen who was very well known for ov...

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...disorder Pietrangelo (2012) Nursing Theory (2013)
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