The article points out that not all theft is consistent with kleptomania, and this should be considered in determining the extent to which kleptomania may be responsible for particular criminal behaviours. It sounds like there’s no clear legal precedent as to whether kleptomania may be a mitigating factor that diminishes capacity (the mens rea or criminal intent aspect of a crime) when someone is charged with theft. Legal implicationsĪn article in The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law characterized kleptomania as a behavioural addiction (along the lines of gambling addiction). It has been suggested that a potential explanation for the poor decision-making in kleptomania may be related to serotonin dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that’s responsible for executive functioning (higher-level decision-making). structural/functional changes in the brain), as kleptomania has been observed following head injuries. There may be a neuropsychiatric basis (i.e. Possible explanationsįrom a psychoanalytic perspective, kleptomania is seen as possibly representing sexual repression (although is there anything Freud wouldn’t link to sexual repression?) or trying to repossess childhood losses. A combination of medication and psychotherapy may be the most effective. Psychotherapy is also used to treat the condition. These are all used off-label, as the FDA hasn’t approved any medication specifically for use in kleptomania. Atypical antipsychotics may be helpful as an add-on to SSRIs, although this hasn’t been clearly established. TreatmentĪ variety of medications have shown some benefits in kleptomania, including SSRI antidepressants, naltrexone (used to decrease cravings in addictions), and the mood stabilizer/antiepileptic topiramate. Often people will have certain triggers, either internal or environmental, for their urges to steal. It usually begins in adolescence, and it’s two to three times as common in females than in males. The condition is likely under-diagnosed, as people are often too embarrassed to seek treatment. In terms of family history, people with kleptomania are more likely to have a family history of alcoholism. Kleptomania is rare, only occurring in about 0.6% of the population, although it appears to be more common among people with another psychiatric condition, particularly mood, anxiety, or substance use disorders. Most people with kleptomania feel shame and guilt after completing a theft. It’s not an issue of morality, in the same sense that OCD compulsive behaviours don’t come from moral flaws or weaknesses. Unlike someone with antisocial personality disorder who might steal based on a lack of regard for others, the urges to steal in kleptomania are experienced as ego-dystonic, meaning the person finds the urges distressing and wishes they didn’t have them. the theft is not due to anger, seeking vengeance, psychosis, mania, antisocial personality, or other conditions.there are feelings of pleasure or gratification while committing the theft.there is a sense of building tension immediately before the theft.recurrent failure at resisting impulses to steal items that are neither needed nor taken for their monetary value. ![]() ![]() In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), kleptomania falls in the category of “disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders”, along with pyromania, conduct disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder. It wasn’t a condition I had anything more than passing familiarity with, but it came up in a conversation with a fellow blogger, so I wanted to take a closer look. Yes, kleptomania is actually a legitimate psychiatric condition. In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms.
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