Kleptomania

The essential feature of kleptomania is a recurrent failure to resist impulses to steal objects not needed for personal use or for monetary value. The objects taken are often given away, returned surreptitiously, or kept and hidden. Persons with kleptomania usually have the money to pay for the objects they impulsively steal.


The stealing is not planned and does not involve others. Although the thefts do not occur when immediate arrest is probable, persons with kleptomania do not always consider their chances of being apprehended, although repeated arrests lead to pain and humiliation. These persons may feel guilt and anxiety after the theft, but they do not feel anger or vengeance. Furthermore, when the object stolen is the goal, the diagnosis is not kleptomania; in kleptomania, the act of stealing is itself the goal.

Etiology of kleptomania :
Psychosocial Factors. The symptoms of kleptomania tend to appear in times of significant stress, for example, losses, separations, and endings of important relationships. Some psychoanalytic writers have stressed the expression of aggressive impulses in kleptomania; others have discerned a libidinal aspect. Those who focus on symbolism see meaning in the act itself, the object stolen, and the victim of the theft.

One theoretician established seven categories of stealing in chronically acting-out children:
1. As a means of restoring the lost mother–child relationship
2. As an aggressive act
3. As a defense against fears of being damaged (perhaps a search by girls for a penis or a protection against castration anxiety in boys)
4. As a means of seeking punishment
5. As a means of restoring or adding to self-esteem
6. In connection with, and as a reaction to, a family secret
7. As excitement (lust angst) and a substitute for a sexual act
One or more of these categories can also apply to adult kleptomania.

Biological Factors. Brain diseases and mental retardation have been associated with kleptomania, as they have with other disorders of impulse control. Focal neurological signs, cortical atrophy, and enlarged lateral ventricles have been found in some patients. Disturbances in monoamine metabolism, particularly of serotonin, have been postulated.
Family and Genetic Factors. In one study, 7 percent of first-degree relatives had obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In addition, a higher rate of mood disorders has been reported in family members.

Kleptomania may begin in childhood, although most children and adolescents who steal do not become kleptomaniac adults.The onset of the disorder generally is late adolescence. Women are more likely than men to present for psychiatric evaluation or treatment. Men are more likely to be sent to prison. Men tend to present with the disorder at about 50 years of age; women present at about 35 years of age. In quiescent cases, new bouts of the disorder may be precipitated by loss or disappointment.