| Archives of Disease 1995 |
Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy – Medical concerns about its use. |
Dr, C.J. Morley was one of the first physicians in the U.K. to express serious concerns and to raise important questions regarding the use of Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy [M.S.B.P.] in identifying child abuse.
The so-called `indicators’ of symptoms of MSBP are rightly criticised by Dr. Morley for their non-specificity and that they can in fact be indicators of normal behaviours and common illnesses.
Morley suggests that the exact nature of the allegation of child abuse should be stated e.g. suffocation, poisoning, falsely reporting fits etc. This of course would require the physician to provide evidence to support their assertions whereas to merely apply the MSBP label requires only their medical `opinion’ with only individual perceptions of events and subjective interpretations of behaviours to support such assertions.
In his conclusions, Morley suggests completely abandoning the use of the term MSBP as there are serious questions regarding the accuracy, sensitivity and ethics of some of the techniques being used in applying the label.
First published in the Archives of Diseases of Childhood – 1995; 72:528-530.
Colin Morley (c)
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