Kleptomania

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Complications

By Mayo Clinic staff

Left untreated, kleptomania can result in severe emotional, legal and financial problems. For example, many people with known kleptomania have been arrested for shoplifting. Because you know stealing is wrong but you feel powerless to resist the impulse, you may be wracked by guilt, shame, self-loathing and humiliation. You may otherwise lead a moral, upstanding life and be confused and upset by your compulsive stealing.

Complications that kleptomania may cause or be associated with include:

  • Arrest
  • Imprisonment
  • Depression
  • Alcohol and substance abuse
  • Eating disorders
  • Anxiety
  • Compulsive gambling or shopping
  • Suicidal thoughts or behavior
  • Social isolation
Treatments and drugs Tests and diagnosis
References
  1. Kleptomania. In: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR. 4th ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association; 2000. http://www.psychiatryonline.com. Accessed Aug. 22, 2011.
  2. Hollander E, et al. Impulse-control disorders not elsewhere classified. In: Hales RE, et al., eds. The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Psychiatry. 5th ed. Washington, D.C..: American Psychiatric Association; 2008.
  3. Grant JE. Understanding and treating kleptomania: New models and new treatments. Israeli Journal of Psychiatry and Related Sciences. 2006;43:81.
  4. Thompson JW Jr, et al. Impulse-control disorders. In: Ebert MH, et al. Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Psychiatry. 2nd ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw Hill Companies; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=10. Accessed Aug. 22, 2011.
  5. Bayle FJ, et al. Psychopathology and comorbidity of psychiatric disorders in patients with kleptomania. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2003;160:1509.
  6. Grant JE, et al. Legal consequences of kleptomania. Psychiatry Quarterly. 2009;80:251.
DS01034 Oct. 5, 2011

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