Larsinou, Evgenia;
(2025)
Factors associated with maternal fabricated or induced illness.
Doctoral thesis (D.Psych), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
Aim: Fabricated or Induced illness (FII) behaviour is a form of caregiver maltreatment that can have serious detrimental consequences for a child. Understanding the psychological processes underpinning this behaviour is important for prevention and treatment. The aim of the present literature review was to explore the background of the parents identified with FII and understand the link between their background and their motivation to carry out FII behaviour. Method: A systematic research was used using the following databases: PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and PEPWEB. Relevant papers were also identified using the snowballing method, reference lists, and hand searching. Results: Evidence showed that a significant proportion of FII perpetrators had a history of adverse and traumatic early life experiences, including instances of abuse, neglect, disrupted attachments, and experiences of illness or loss. Additionally, evidence indicated a notable prevalence of perpetrators with somatoform disorder, personality disorder, or pathological lying. Regarding the characteristics of perpetrators, they often present as functional, yet exhibit aggressive, ambivalent and contradictory behaviours. Attachment theory argued that FII motivation lies on disturbed attachment between the perpetrator and their mother. Similarly, psychodynamic theory focused on traumatic early experiences lying on dysfunctional parent-child relationships in the perpetrators background. A different explanation, criticising psychodynamic theory was discussed. Conclusion: Evidence showed that adverse childhood experiences such as neglect might be a common characteristic in FII perpetrators. Due to the high intergenerational link, it seems that future research needs to focus on the perpetrators’ childhood through observations and interviews in order to get deeper insights.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | D.Psych |
| Title: | Factors associated with maternal fabricated or induced illness |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2025. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10203484 |
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