Kleptomania - Is It True That Some People Cannot Resist Stealing?

Kleptomania is the inability to resist impulses to steal even though the items are not needed for personal use or for their monetary value.

The stolen items may be given away, discarded, returned in secret or kept and hidden.

The individual usually have enough money to pay for the stolen items

The individual steals purely for the sake of stealing and for the sense of relief and gratification

The individual knows that the act is wrong but cannot resist.

Its onset is usually in adolescence and it is more common in women than men.

Predisposing Factors

1. Biological Influences(Brain disease and mental retardation)
2. Psychosocial Influences
Kleptomanias experience feelings of being neglected or unwanted. Childhood memories of abandonment and a sense of lovelessness.

Treatment

1. Psychotherapy
2. Systematic desensitization