kleptomania

kleptomania /klep·to·ma·nia/ (klep″to-ma´ne-ah) compulsive stealing of objects unnecessary for personal use or monetary value.

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klep·to·ma·ni·a (klpt-mn-, -mny)

n.

An obsessive impulse to steal regardless of economic need, usually arising from an unconscious symbolic value associated with the stolen item.

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klepto·mani·ac (-n-k) adj.

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Kleptomania

An impulse control disorder in which one steals objects that are of little or no value.

Mentioned in: Impulse Control Disorders, Intermittent Explosive Disorder

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kleptomania

[-mā′nē·ə]

Etymology: Gk, kleptein, to steal, mania, madness

an anxiety disorder characterized by an abnormal, uncontrollable, and recurrent urge to steal. The objects are taken not for their monetary value, immediate need, or utility but because of a symbolic meaning usually associated with some unconscious emotional conflict; they are usually given away, returned surreptitiously, or kept and hidden. People who have the condition experience an increased sense of tension before committing the theft and intense gratification during the act. Afterward they display signs of depression, guilt, and anxiety over the possibility of being apprehended and losing status in society. In less severe cases the impulse is expressed by continuously borrowing objects and not returning them. Treatment consists of psychotherapy to uncover the underlying emotional problems. See also impulse control disorder. kleptomaniac, n.

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kleptomania [klep″to-ma´ne-ah]

an impulse control disorder consisting of an abnormal, uncontrollable desire to steal.

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kleptomania

(klep´tōmā´nē)
n an impulse control disorder distinguished by an uncontrollable urge to steal typically unnecessary objects.

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kleptomania

Psychology Compulsive stealing, usually of objects which may have symbolic significance