Anderson, A. P., Feldman, M. D., & Bryce, J.2019-05-102019-05-102018Anderson, A. P., Feldman, M. D., & Bryce, J. (2018). Munchausen by proxy: A qualitative investigation into online perceptions of medical child abuse. Journal of forensic sciences, 63(3), 771-775.http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/19497/1/19497%20JOFS%2017-260%20%28003%29.pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/11212/4346In Munchausen by proxy (MBP) maltreatment, increasingly termed “medical child abuse” (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 the current 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, the current 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.enchild abuseneglectresearchMunchausen by proxycaregiversArticle