Clinical features and motives among 42 artifactual illness patients.

This paper describes the salient clinical features and histories of 42 patients whose artifactual condition gained them admittance to hospital. Most were female, single, separated or divorced, emotionally deprived in childhood and/or adulthood, and 'psychopathic'. Also common were poor work records, court convictions, drug and/or alcoholic histories and aggressive traits and/or acts. However, 50 per cent were in caring professions and 28 per cent socially conformist. Distinct subgroups were wanderers, non-wanderers, single-system and multiple-system patients, haemorrhagic and psychiatric patients. Seventy-four per cent seemed to be experiencing severe unacknowledged sexual and/or marital problems, 32 per cent sought more general attention, 10 per cent were compensating for loss of parents or spouse, and 12 per cent were escaping things or trying to obtain things retrospectively. Haemorrhagic and psychiatric subgroups of artifactual illness had not previously been described. Non-wanderers were significantly more cooperative in follow-up than wanderers. The psychopathology of this disturbance is discussed.