File:Théodore_Géricault_-_Portrait_of_a_Kleptomaniac_-_WGA08636.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
kleptomania
Sign in to saveAlso known as pathological stealing
Kleptomania 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. 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.
Kleptomania is a mental health condition where people feel an irresistible urge to steal things, typically not because they need or want the items themselves but for other psychological reasons. It matters because it's recognized as a serious impulse-control disorder that can have legal and social consequences, and understanding it as a psychiatric condition rather than simple theft helps identify people who need proper treatment.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Key facts
- Medical condition (new).name
- Kleptomania
- Medical condition (new).synonyms
- Klopemania
- Medical condition (new).image
- Théodore Géricault - Portrait of a Kleptomaniac - WGA08636.jpg
- Medical condition (new).caption
- Portrait of a Kleptomaniac by Théodore Géricault
- Medical condition (new).field
- Psychiatry
- Medical condition (new).symptoms
- Compulsive urge to steal items without a reason or use for the items.
- Medical condition (new).complications
- Arrest
- Medical condition (new).risks
- Past incidents of stealing without consequences
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- mental disorder
- Subclass of
- disease
- Image
- Constant Wauters Der ertappte Hausdiener.jpg
Show 6 more facts
- Commons category
- Kleptomania
- health specialty
- psychology
- NCI Thesaurus ID
- C94333
- exact match
- identifiers.org/doid/DOID:12400
- ICD-9-CM
- 312.32
- on focus list of Wikimedia project
- WikiProject Psychology
Sources (5)
via Wikidata · CC0
~19 min read
Encyclopedic overview
20 sectionsContents
- Signs and symptoms
- Cause
- Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic approach
- Cognitive–behavioral models
- Biological models
- Diagnosis
- Comorbidity
- Substance use disorder
- Pyromania
- Treatment
- Behavioral and cognitive intervention
- Drug treatment
- History
- Etymology
- First generation of psychoanalysis
- Second generation of psychoanalysis
- New perspectives
- In popular culture
- See also
- References
Kleptomania 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. 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.
The disorder is frequently under-diagnosed and is regularly associated with other psychiatric disorders, particularly anxiety disorders, eating disorders, alcohol and substance abuse. Patients with kleptomania are typically treated with therapies in other areas due to the comorbid grievances rather than issues directly related to kleptomania.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “kleptomania” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.