@article{ref1,
title="Munchausen by proxy: a qualitative investigation into online perceptions of medical child abuse",
journal="Journal of forensic sciences",
year="2018",
author="Anderson, Anoushka P. A. and Feldman, Marc D. and Bryce, Joanne",
volume="63",
number="3",
pages="771-775",
abstract="In Munchausen by proxy (MBP) maltreatment, increasingly termed &quot;medical child abuse&quot; (MCA), a caregiver fabricates or induces illness in another. The perpetrator's goal for the behavior is to meet personal emotional needs by forcing unnecessary or misguided medical or psychological treatment. Generally, a mother is the perpetrator and her child is the victim. There is a serious lack of research into most aspects of MCA, and this study is the first to utilize the anonymity of an Internet forum to investigate victims' first-hand experiences of, and the public's opinions about, suspected and confirmed MCA. Three-hundred and fifty-six posts by 348 members were explored and coded using formal qualitative content analysis. By accessing an open-thought online forum, this paper acquired information regarding social perceptions about the nonperpetrating partners who are unaware of the maltreatment; the disturbing and counterintuitive phenomenon of MCA itself; and the resistance often faced by those who attempt to report it.<br><br>© 2017 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0022-1198",
doi="10.1111/1556-4029.13610",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.13610"
}