ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Published Online: 1 October 1986
Page Count: 9

Pseudoabuse—The Misdiagnosis of Child Abuse
Kaplan, JM
Professor of clinical pediatrics, Hahnemann University, Hahnemann Hospital, PA

(Received 30 November 1985; accepted 24 January 1986)

Abstract

When a patient's problem is judged to be the result of child abuse and it is not, considerable harm may be done to the child, his parents, and the doctor-parent relationship. The case histories of 15 children who were thought to be abused are reviewed and their correct diagnoses are presented. Overdiagnosing the battered child syndrome can be as harmful as failing to consider it.

Keywords:
psychiatry, child abuse

Paper ID: JFS11920J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS11920J
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