How Kleptomania Works

With the diagnosis criteria in mind, kleptomania as a true condition occurs in a rather small percentage of the population. While no true estimate of the general population is available, scientists estimate that kleptomania occurs in 5 to 10 percent of psychiatric patients [source: Grant].

Kleptomania tends to occur in women more than in men. However, there may be some gender bias in this finding because women who steal tend to get psychiatric evaluations, while men who steal tend to go to prison [source: Grant]. Similarly, there doesn't appear to be any one social group in which kleptomania is rampant

Kleptomania usually begins in the teens or 20s. By the time patients present themselves to psychiatrists, women are usually in their mid- to late 30s, while men are in their 50s. There have been reports of kleptomaniacs in their late 70s. We don't know if kleptomania has a genetic component, but some studies suggest that kleptomaniacs have parents or close relatives with substance abuse problems, obsessive-compulsive disorder and/or mood disorders.

Kleptomaniacs usually steal items that they could otherwise afford (like shampoo, clothing and sunglasses). They don't go into stores with the intent to steal, but they become tense with the prospect of theft and might not steal when there is a high probability of getting caught. The theft itself generally relieves the tension, but it leads to intense feelings of guilt, embarrassment, anxiety and remorse. Kleptomaniacs may hoard the stolen items, give them away, dispose of them or clandestinely return them.

Often, the stealing behavior of kleptomania occurs along with other psychological disorders, like obsessive-compulsive, personality and mood disorders. This observation has led some psychiatrists to question whether kleptomania is indeed a true psychological disorder or a manifestation of some other psychological disorder. Generally, kleptomania has been classed with other impulse control disorders, such as pathological gambling, pyromania and trichotillomania (chronic hair-pulling). Impulse control disorders are those where the individuals cannot resist the impulse to commit some behavior, criminal or otherwise. The addictive nature of kleptomania, as well as other impulse control disorders, has provided some insights for possible causes and treatments.

There have been no rigorous or conclusive studies on the neurological basis of kleptomania. However, some have provided clues about its possible causes and locations within the nervous system. Here are some possible causes noted by psychiatrist Jon Grant of the University of Minnesota School of Medicine [source: Grant].

Taken together, these studies point toward the front of the brain, particularly connections involved in information exchange with the limbic system (which controls moods, emotions and desires).

Neuroscientists have implicated serotonin in addiction and depression. And impulse control disorders do resemble addictive behaviors. So, impulse control disorders may use the same neurotransmitter pathways -- and could possibly be treated by drugs that alter serotonin transport and reuptake.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) like fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil) and fluvoxamine (Luvox) have been used to treat kleptomania, but case reports of these treatments have demonstrated mixed results. Some have reported success in relieving kleptomania symptoms, while others have not indicated any effects at all [source: Grant].

Likewise, attempts to treat kleptomania with lithium (a mood stabilizer) or naltrexone (an opioid antagonist -- used to treat heroin and morphine addictions) have been inconclusive.

With the lack of clear neurobiology and pharmacological evidence for kleptomania, psychiatrists have used cognitive behavioral therapies [source: Grant].

Like drug treatments, these cognitive behavioral therapies have achieved mixed results. Clearly, there needs to be more controlled behavioral, neurological and pharmacological studies for kleptomania, as well as other impulse control disorders. But a major problem is that many of these behaviors occur so rarely in the general population that getting enough subjects to obtain convincing scientific evidence may be difficult.

To learn more about kleptomania, take a look at the links on the next page.