Factitious Disorder
Somatic Symptom & Related Disorder
In Somatoform disorders Psychological problems take a physical form. The Physical symptoms of Somatoform disorders, which have no known physiological explanation and are not under voluntary control, are thought to be linked to Psychological factors, presumably anxiety, and are therefore assumed to be Psychologically caused.
About Factitious Disorder:
Factitious Disorder is more puzzling set of condition. The symptoms are under voluntary control, but there is no obvious reason for voluntary producing the symptoms except, possibly, to assume the sick role and receive increased attention. Tragically, this disorder may extend to other members of the family. An adult, almost always a mother, may purposely make her child sick, evidently for the attention and pitty given to her as the mother of a sick child. When an individual deliberately makes someone else sick, the condition is called Factitious Disorder imposed on another. It was also known as Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. In any case, it is a type of a child abuse.
The offending parent may resort to extreme tactis to create the appearance of illness in the child. For Example a mother stirred her child’s urine specimen with a vaginal tampon obtained during menstruation. Another mother fixed faces into her child’s vomit. Because the mother typically establishes a positive relationship with a medical staff, the true nature of Illness is most often unsuspected and the staff members perceive the parent as remarkable caring, cooperative, and involved in providing for her child’s well- being. Therefore, the mother is often successful at eluding suspicion. Helpful procedures to assess the possibility of Factitious disorder imposed on another include a trial separation of the mother and the child or video surveillance of the child while in the hospital. The diagnoses turned out to be factitious Disorder imposed on another, where the parent was responsible for the child’s symptoms.
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REFERENCE
David H. Barlow, BOSTON UNIVERSITY
V. Mark Durand, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA- ST. PETERSBERG
2. ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY: 9TH EDITION
Davision G.C., Neale, J.M. and Kring, A.M.
3. ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY
Allov. L.B.: Riskind, J.H. and Manos, M.J.
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Carson. R.C. and Butcher. N.J.