NCJ Number
208774
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect: The International Journal Volume: 26 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2002 Pages: 509-524
Date Published
May 2002
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This literature review examined the prevalence and features of cases of Munchausen by Proxy (MBP) in countries throughout the world.
Abstract
The literature on MBP child abuse has been written mostly by professionals working in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. This article summarizes the published work that has emerged from outside these countries. The study examined numerous health care computer databases. A total of 59 articles from 24 countries were found. They described at least 122 cases of MBP in 9 languages. For the cases in which information was available, the mother was the sole perpetrator in 86 percent of the cases, and the victim was between 3 and 13 years old in 52 percent of the cases. The victim was male in 54 percent of the cases. The presentations of MBP are similar across the world, with the exception of induced apnea, which was uncommon in the articles reviewed. This article concludes that MBP is not a phenomenon unique to Western societies with advanced bodies of medical knowledge and a regimen of diagnostic specificity. An extensive table presents the characteristics of each case described in the literature. 57 references