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Dehumanization And Medical Abuse: Understanding Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy And Physician Liability, Michelle Deutsch

Senior Honors Theses

Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSBP), according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, is a relatively rare psychiatric disorder and form of child abuse wherein a caretaker will either purposefully induce real symptoms to make their child appear gravely sick or fabricate false medical symptoms, even in the absence of external rewards. It remains difficult to diagnose perpetrators of MSBP because the caretaker’s extreme concern for their child’s supposed ailments is rationalized as caring and devoted. However, the victim may suffer grievous physical and psychological damage, including death. Thus, it is pivotal that medical professionals and forensic evaluators …