PSYCHOLOGY OF KLEPTOMANIA

There are a lot of psychiatric disorders. Impulse Control Disorders - a group of psychiatric disorders, known as impulse control disorders which include compulsive gambling, pyromania etc. Today I would like to talk about one disorder of this group of psychiatric disorders, about kleptomania.

First of all, I define what kleptomania is. According to Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders, kleptomania is an impulse control disorder, characterized by a recurrent failure to resist stealing. Discussing this phenomenon, we are in a dilemma, is it a mental disorder or maybe simply a crime? True kleptomania is a very rare condition. Sometimes people confuse it with recurrent failure to resist obsessive, addictive, or compulsive thoughts or urges to steal objects which they often will use. Kleptomaniacs will steal without ever needing the things they steal. They do not feel anger, but they also don't premeditate their actions. These patients have an irresistible inclination to steal. Often they throw away the stolen goods, as they are mostly interested in the stealing itself.


Kleptomania is rare overall, but more common in females than in males, but it cannot be associated with gender difference idea. To my mind it is related with our culture, traditions, and lifestyle (simply more often women do the shop rather than men). It is obviously difficult to document the precise number of people with this problem and we can not maintain that women are risk-group.

People with kleptomania often have another psychiatric disorder, often a mood disorder such as depression and anxiety. Depression, anxiety, eating disorders and substance abuse disorders are common in individuals with kleptomania. But we have not a informative data and researches that could demonstrate that kleptomania is the result of other psychological disorder or that situation is inverse.

Resource:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/klepto.html