Kleptomania

For other uses, see Kleptomania (disambiguation).
Kleptomania
Other namesKlopemania[1]
Portrait of a Kleptomaniac by Théodore Géricault
SpecialtyPsychiatry

Kleptomania (Greek: Κλεπτομανία) is the inability to resist the urge to steal items, usually for reasons other than personal use or financial gain. First described in 1816, kleptomania is classified in psychiatry as an impulse control disorder.[2] Some of the main characteristics of the disorder suggest that kleptomania could be an obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorder, but also share similarities with addictive and mood disorders.[3][4]

The disorder is frequently under-diagnosed and is regularly associated with other psychiatric disorders, particularly anxiety, eating disorders, alcohol and substance use. Patients with kleptomania are typically treated with therapies in other areas due to the comorbid grievances rather than issues directly related to kleptomania.[5]

Over the last 100 years, a shift from psychotherapeutic to psychopharmacological interventions for kleptomania has occurred. Pharmacological treatments using selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), mood stabilizers and opioid receptor antagonists, and other antidepressants along with cognitive behavioral therapy, have yielded positive results.[6] However, there have also been reports of kleptomania induced by selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).[7]

  1. ^ "Word List: Definitions of Mania Words and Obsessions". phrontistery.info.
  2. ^ Shulman, Terrence Daryl (2004). Something for Nothing: Shoplifting Addiction & Recovery. Haverford, PA: Infinity Publishing. ISBN 0741417790.
  3. ^ Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV. pp. 1211.
  4. ^ Grant, Jon (2006). "Understanding and Treating Kleptomania: New Models and New Treatments". The Israel Journal of Psychiatry and Related Sciences. 43 (2): 81–7. PMID 16910369. ProQuest 236926707.
  5. ^ Grant, JE (2004). "Co-occurrence of personality disorders in persons with kleptomania: a preliminary investigation". Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. 32 (4): 395–8. PMID 15704625.
  6. ^ Aizer, A.; Lowengrub, K.; Dannon, P.N. (2004). "Kleptomania after head trauma: two case reports and the combination treatment strategies". Clinical Neuropharmacology. 27 (5): 211–5. doi:10.1097/01.wnf.0000144042.66342.d3. PMID 15602100.
  7. ^ Kindler, Seth; Dannon, Pinhas N.; Iancu, Iulian; Sasson, Yehuda; Zohar, Joseph (1997-04-01). "Emergence of Kleptomania During Treatment for Depression with Serotonin Selective Reuptake Inhibitors". Clinical Neuropharmacology. 20 (2): 126–129. doi:10.1097/00002826-199704000-00003. ISSN 0362-5664. PMID 9099464.