Kleptomania - Diagnosis

Diagnosis

Disagreement surrounds the method by which kleptomania is considered and diagnosed. On one hand, some researchers believe that kleptomania is merely theft and dispute the suggestion that there are psychological mechanisms involved, while others observe kleptomania as part of a substance-related addiction. Yet others categorize kleptomania as a variation of an impulse control disorder, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder or eating disorders.

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fourth edition (DSM IV-TR), a frequent and widely used guide for the diagnosis of mental disorders, the following symptoms and characteristics are the diagnostic criteria for kleptomania:

1. repeated inability to defend against urges to steal things that are not essential for private use or for their economic value;
2. escalating sense of pressure immediately prior to performing the theft;
3. satisfaction, fulfillment or relief at the point of performing the theft;
4. the theft is not executed to convey antagonism or revenge, and is not in reaction to a delusion or a fantasy; and
5. the thieving is not better accounted for by behavior disorder, a manic episode, or antisocial personality disorder.

Skeptics have decried kleptomania as an invalid psychiatric concept exploited in legal defenses of wealthy lady shoplifters. During the twentieth century, kleptomania was strongly linked with the increased prevalence of department stores, and "department store kleptomaniacs" were a widely held social stereotype that had political implications.