What Is Kleptomania?

You have probably heard of kleptomania. Maybe you even know a close case. The media and popular legends (to call it somehow) have caused this disorder to be surrounded by a halo of ignorance. An ignorance that has given rise to myths that we are going to try to correct.

How many people does it affect? How is it diagnosed? What leads people to steal? What do they steal? Are there different types of kleptomaniacs? … These are just some of the questions that we are going to try to answer. We will also delve into the diagnostic criteria, differentiating well what is and what is not kleptomania and we will know what are the treatments that help these people the most.

What is kleptomania and how is it diagnosed?

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) collects kleptomania within a chapter called ” Disruptive Disorders of Impulse and Behavior Control. ” Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), intermittent explosive disorder (IED), conduct disorder (CD, formerly conduct disorder), and pyromania are also located in this chapter.

In order to diagnose kleptomania, the following diagnostic criteria must be met :

• Recurring difficulty in controlling impulses to steal items that are not necessary for personal use or for their economic value.
• Feeling of increasing tension immediately before committing the robbery.
• Well-being, gratification or liberation at the time of committing the theft.
• Theft is not committed to express anger or revenge and is not in response to a delusional idea or hallucination.
• Theft is not explained by the presence of Conduct Disorder, Manic Episode, or Antisocial Personality Disorder.

The DSM does not specify any time criteria; however, ICD-10 requires the presence of two episodes in order to diagnose the disorder. Some psychologists even consider that two episodes should occur in a 6-month period in order to apply the diagnosis.

In addition, the diagnosis is complicated because it is not easy for the person to recognize this problem. For this reason, it is thought to be a much more common disorder than it seems.

Necessary clarifications

As mentioned in the first criterion, the main problem is the inability to resist the urge to steal. This means that the person does not plan his robberies, does not make an escape plan, nor does he plan to do so. They don’t become professional white-collar thieves. In fact, these episodes are often associated with periods of anxiety (periods in which it would be difficult to develop a master plan). In addition, the person does not steal objects for their economic interest or because it is a necessity.

Although the DSM specifies that the person experiences well-being, gratification and liberation, it is important to clarify that this well-being does not derive from the act of stealing, but from the reduction of tension experienced before the robbery. The theft acts as an anxiolytic, so to speak. In fact, people with kleptomania often feel a lot of guilt and shame after the episode.

What is and what is not kleptomania? Differential diagnosis

A person with kleptomania, of course, is not a criminal, as far as intentionality is concerned. For this reason, it is important to differentiate a true kleptomaniac from a person who has committed a theft or robbery and who tries to avoid being convicted by simulating the disorder.

Theft is not associated with feelings of revenge, nor is it related to conduct disorder or antisocial personality disorder. One of the diagnostic criteria for conduct disorder and antisocial is, indeed, having committed robberies. If this criterion is accompanied by others, typical of these disorders, the diagnosis of kleptomania no longer makes sense.

In the same way, if the theft is committed in response to a delusional idea or hallucinations, the diagnosis of kleptomania could not be made either. And the same is true if the theft is committed during a manic episode, a demented state or other personality disorders such as BPD.

Prevalence and types of kleptomania

It is a rare disorder in the general population. It affects approximately 0.3-0.6% of the population. According to DSM-IV-TR only 5% of subjects who commit robbery crimes met criteria for kleptomania. The DSM-5, on the other hand, suggests that the diagnosis is present in between 4-24% of the individuals arrested for shoplifting.

Kleptomania is diagnosed to a greater extent in women, with a proportion of 3 women being diagnosed for every man. The age of onset is variable. In children and adolescents, the disorder usually remits spontaneously.

Regarding the course of the disease, three patterns have been identified, mainly :

• Sporadic – Theft episodes occur infrequently, but are spread over time.
• Episodic : periods of higher frequency of robberies alternate with periods in which there are no episodes.
• Chronic : the theft is continuous and uncontrollable and greatly limits the life of the person.

How is kleptomania treated?

Not much is known about effective treatments for kleptomania. However, some techniques are known that can help improve the problem.

• Identify maladaptive beliefs and behaviors that trigger pre-theft anxiety and replace them with more adaptive beliefs and behaviors that prevent that anxiety.

• Awareness techniques in which, with the help of the therapist, the robbery situation is recreated and the patient faces negative consequences such as being captured.
• Systematic desensitization procedures to reduce the anxiety triggered by theft.
• Aversive techniques in which unpleasant sensations are associated with the act of stealing.
• Control of stimuli, as a restriction in the moments in which a possible theft is foreseen, to go shopping accompanied.

Knowing what kleptomania is, you can already imagine that it is a very limiting disorder that affects several areas of people’s lives and that, as if that were not enough, it is subject to great stigmatization.

For this reason, it is important to put an end to all the myths surrounding this disease and get to know it more closely in order to become aware of the suffering of people with kleptomania and to be able to help them or recommend that they seek professional help.

Fortunately, the use of the aforementioned techniques helps reduce theft episodes and improve the quality of life of people diagnosed with kleptomania.