Deliberately pretending to have disability or illness in order to receive financial or other gains is called:
Correct Answer: Malingering
Description: Ans: A (Malingering) Ref: Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry, 9th editionExplanation:Voluntary Vs Involuntary SymptomsPresentation of symptoms, signs and disability are either "involuntary" as in almost all physical problems or "voluntary" as in some psychological issues.Identification and classification depends upon:1. The nature of symptoms and signs.2. Consistency of it.3. Corroborative evidence {from others like relatives, staff and from investigations) for the underlying mechanisms.4. The supposed aim or effect of it on the person's life.In case of voluntary (willful) production, the signs and symptoms do not fit into the existing literature, inconsistent, have poor corroboration and will give the feeling of "something fishy" to the clinician (effect/aim of having such proWems).In case of malingering and factitious disorders, "voluntary" presentation occurs: rest of the disorders it is "involuntary".GainFrom psychiatric point of view. "Gain" is the term used for such psychological phenomena.Gain is something by which a person achieves through the signs and symptoms or illness and disability.There are three types of gain:1. Primary gain - used for "relief from anxiety". The anxiety is in turn due to conflict within.2. Secondary gain is any tangible or Intangible benefit one gets. Example for tangible benefit - money, intangible benefit- leave or care.3. Tertiary gain is when a relative gets intangible or tangible benefit because of the sickness of the patient. For example, father taking leave from office to look after his sick daughter.Secondary and tertiary gain are due to almost always willful production, hence it can result in malingering or factitious disorder.The difference between the two lies in the aim of production.If a person produces symptoms to get money, leave from work, litigious revenge- then it is malingering as in the question.If a person produces signs and symptoms to get care and affection- factitious disorderAlso Note:In conversion and dissociative disorders, production of symptoms is involuntary and the aim is to get primary gain'.In somatoform/ somatization disorder, involuntary production is due to "undue feaf' (pathological anxiety) about body/future.In case ot hypochondriasis, the patient is worried about having/contracting an illness rather than worried about symptoms per se, otherwise it is similar to somatoform disorderIn delusional disorder (of somatic type), the belief is too rigid and patient is fully convinced and not amenable for explanations to the contrary.
Category:
Psychiatry
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