Am J Psychiatry 1987; 144:658-660
Copyright © 1987 by American Psychiatric Association
Folie a famille: shared paranoid disorder in a Vietnam veteran and his family
JN Glassman, M Magulac and DF Darko
Reports of folie a famille are rare; this may be the first reported case
involving a Vietnam veteran. Expression of his paranoid schizophrenia
involved delusions and hallucinations relating to Vietnam, and his wife and
children shared his paranoia. Typical of folie a famille were the dominant
family member, the threat of violence, and the family's social isolation,
frequent crises, and stable membership. Although the veteran's intrusive
recollections of his Vietnam experience were typical of posttraumatic
stress disorder, he acted on rather than avoided them. Treatment focused on
the entire family, partly to minimize future problems in the children.
