Munchausen syndrome by proxy

noun

1. Psychiatry. a form of Munchausen syndrome in which a person induces or claims to observe a disease in another, usually a close relative, in order to attract the doctor's attention to herself or himself.

Example Sentences

It was believed by many to be a case of Munchausen syndrome by proxy — a form of child abuse in which a caregiver might induce illness to draw public sympathy, care, concern and material gifts — and the saga captured the collective interest.

From New York Times

Additional layers of Blanchard's personal story and her experience as a survivor of Munchausen syndrome by proxy continue to be revealed in the docuseries and a new eBook.

From Salon

Dee Dee suffered from Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a psychological disorder and form of child abuse in which a caregiver fabricates, exaggerates or induces serious illness in another person — typically their child — to garner attention.

From Salon

Further media coverage of her case reframed Gypsy as one of the most extreme cases of Munchausen syndrome by proxy ever presented, a victim of severe abuse whose world was misshapen by a profoundly disturbed mother.

From Salon

Munchausen syndrome by proxy, which the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders also refers to as “factitious disorder,” is defined by its perpetrator inducing or coercing another person to fake physical and psychological symptoms expressly to obtain attention and sympathy.

From Salon