Most people would never dream of inflicting pain on themselves or their loved ones in an attempt to gain the attention and sympathy of others, but people with Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome (MSBP) do just that. Someone who has this mental illness is a parent, most often the mother, who fabricates illnesses in their children, subjecting them to numerous medical examinations and tests. Scientific studies have been unable to establish a clear psychological profile of why parents, most often mothers, perpetuate this abuse. However, there have been many indications that Munchausen by proxy syndrome stems from a variety of reasons. In some cases, mothers may seek attention and praise from medical professionals and other supportive people. Other theories say that the mothers themselves were abused and neglected, both physically and psychologically, as children. Additionally, others believe the desire to escape the responsibilities of parenthood harvest the abuse.
Mothers, who are the perpetrators of MSBP abuse more often than fathers, can become blind to the severity of the damage they are inflicting on the child because they experience the attention from medical professionals and other supportive people (Libow 7).
Me And My Parents
English: Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical SchoolThey receive the gratification from attention, increased self-esteem, and false sense of belonging afforded by MSBP. She gains gratification from being in the presence of doctors, nurses and medical personnel and revels in the attention that a concerned mother inevitably attracts in these surroundings. "The MBPS mother then enjoins the physician to perform unneeded and extensive examinations, as well as invasive procedures, upon the child, thereby involving the doctor and hospital staff as unwitting participants in her deceptions" (Allison 1). It appears that the intent is to induce illness and injury, rather than commit murder, for the death of the child would take away the object, which she repeatedly manipulates for her...