PERPETRATOR PROFILE IN MUNCHAUSEN SYNDROME BY PROXY (PPMS)

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.1594252411031

• Palavras-chave: Munchausen Syndrome, Perpetrator, Psychiatric disorder, Child abuse.

• Keywords: Munchausen Syndrome, Perpetrator, Psychiatric disorder, Child abuse.

• Abstract:

  Introduction: Munchausen syndrome by proxy (PPMS) is conceptualized as a psychiatric disorder and is characterized when a person close to the child, mainly the mother, produces false hospital information inducing medicine to investigate the case. Falsification or production of clinical histories and laboratory evidence may occur and cause physical injuries and, in most cases, induce the child to be hospitalized with unnecessary therapeutic and diagnostic procedures, that is, it is a form of childhood abuse, which only in 1977 was reported in the medical literature. Goal: Trace the profile of the perpetrator, adding knowledge about this fictitious disorder. Methodology: An integrative review of the literature was carried out, using the databases: Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), Redalyc and the VHL-psi platform with the descriptors registered in DeCS: munchausen syndrome, munchausen syndrome by proxy, associated to the Boolean operator AND. Results: A total of 2036 articles were found, of which 2027 were excluded for deviating from the central theme. From the five articles analyzed, it was observed that the common profile of a perpetrator, with emphasis when this is the mother, is an unusual and extreme stance of cautious, attentive and cooperative conduct, in a way that deviates from the usual patterns of the relationship maternal. Furthermore, it was noticeable that she usually spends a good part of her time in the hospital, as she seems to enjoy medical procedures, especially sophisticated ones. Added to this, the study found that the victim's illness is in most cases considered unusual and difficult to diagnose, which are consolidated as several inconsistent diagnostic hypotheses constantly disseminated by the mother. Conclusion: The perpetrator, more specifically the mother, presents an unusual and extreme stance of cautious, attentive and cooperative behavior, in a way that deviates from the usual patterns of the maternal relationship.