ABSTRACT
Although the title of this book might suggest that the matters being addressed are straightforward, that is far from the truth. At the outset of this chapter, the reader’s attention is directed to considering the concepts of perspective and the ways in which we construct reality. With such an orientation in mind, the reader is introduced to a series of scientific innovators. With the examples of energy quanta in physics and DNA in chemistry and genetics as the background, it is suggested that the experience and studies that led to Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy and Alignment were conceptually as difficult and as thorny. In turn, the concept of an Interrelated Multidimensional Diagnosis (IMD) is tied to the necessity of further describing the complex dynamics involved with these discoveries and to explain the phenomena under study. The concept of an IMD is defined, and then its utility elaborated through a series of different examples of Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy and Alignment, as well as Factitious Disorder by Proxy, Parental Alienation Syndrome, an Alienated Child, Fabricated and/or Induced Illness in Children, and Parental Alienation. Each of these concepts is explored, the matter of diagnostic confusion touched upon, and the dangers identified for children if these phenomena remain elusive. Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy/Factitious Disorder by Proxy is generally considered to have an incidence rate of 2 per 100,000 children; the mortality rate for this group of children is between 6% and 10%. The same holds for the percentage of children permanently disabled by this phenomenon. Meanwhile, Parental Alienation is estimated to impact as many as 44 million children or more in the United States.
