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INTRODUCTION
Ever felt urged to steal a piece of bubblegum from the grocery store
and given in? Then you are likely training to become either a
kleptomaniac or an addictive compulsive thief. Do not despair –
you’re not alone. Not a threat. And there is a way out
This is also the view of Will Cupchik, a psycho analyst who’s authored
a book outlining a method to treat honest and otherwise normal
people with a compulsive shoplift problem. Claiming that he’s found
the pattern of behavior of ‘Atypical Theft Offenders’, Cupchik
provides interesting insights into the minds of shoplifters. He offers
treatment courses with certified diplomas for people who’ve kicked
the habit for good.
Both Cupchik and Shulman cite cases of high profile offenders that
have lost their jobs for getting caught shoplifting and go on to analyze
the events that are elemental to the habits. It appears that the factors
that motivate people to steal items are largely similar in nature.
“Our stories illustrate how good but vulnerable people try to cope
with life at pivotal times and how punishment is not enough to stop
shoplifters. [They] go more in depth than previous stories in the scant
literature available on shoplifting or kleptomania. I hope this will
provide clarity and hope for those who have little of either,” Shulman
says.
His website shopliftersanonymous.com cites figures that show just
how endemic the situation is and what bearings it has on the
economy. Shopping proletariat style does actually run into quite hefty
sums in terms of value. Some 69% of them steal in department stores;
63% steals in supermarkets; 57% specialty shops; 54% convenience
stores; 47% drug stores and 27% all other type stores. . Of all reported
shoplifting, less than 5% are actually committed by kleptomaniacs
Many people that steal in some way or other will have less difficulty
moving to different crimes.
Twenty percent of the employees cited in that study said they were
aware of fraud at their companies and the most common form was
expense account fraud. Of the 20 percent of the people in the know, 37
percent even knew about theft of office items. What’s perhaps even
worse; 16 percent knew employees who claimed extra hours worked
and 7 percent said they knew people who inflated their expense
accounts!
SYMPTOMS
DEMOGRAPHICS
Studies suggest that 0.6% of the general population may have this
disorder and that it is more common in females. In patients who have
histories of obsessive-compulsive disorder, some studies suggest a 7%
correlation with kleptomania. Other studies have reported a
particularly high (65%) correlation of kleptomania in patients with
bulimia.
DIAGNOSIS
TREATMENTS
PREVENTION
Holy Moly! is reporting that the jeweler who supplied the bling has
tried tracking down the jewelry, but with no luck. The magazine has
no knowledge as to where they went either. All fingers point to Lohan-
and her sticky fingers. However, neither she nor her rep has returned
calls to the jeweler. So they have contacted police who they hope will
get to the bottom of this.
Of course Lindsay was gushing over the baubbles during the photo
shoot, and she is TOTALLY known for nabbing swag. She totally has
it, I’m sure.
Remember that fur coat she took from a nightclub coat room? The
owner later saw photos of Lindsay wearing it and took legal action to
get it back. Louis Vuitton refuses to work with her after she snagged
a bunch of clothes from them, and, according to Steve-O, even steals
cocaine!
A friend of Megan’s said, “Megan was quite a rebel growing up. She
thought she could get away with anything, and definitely had sticky
fingers. She would pocket things like candy and gum from
convenience stores, but Megan’s shoplifting days were quickly put to
an end when she got busted for heisting a $7 tube of lip-gloss from
Wal-Mart.”
“At first, Megan denied it. Even after they told her they caught her on
surveillance video, Megan still tried talking her way out of it. But
when they threatened to call the police, Megan broke down in tears
and confessed.”
CONCLUSION
Kleptomania is as much a mystery as Atlantis, but with the knowledge
we have we have been able to quell the urges but there is sadly no
cure. As they say knowledge is power, so as we learn more about the
condition itself, the closer we will get to ending it. As of right now,
there is only so much we can do with psychotherapy. Kleptomania is
commonly under-diagnosed and is often accompanied by other
psychiatric conditions, most notably affective, anxiety and eating
disorders, and alcohol and substance abuse. Individuals with the
disorder are usually referred for treatment due to the co morbid
psychiatric complaints rather than kleptomaniac behaviour.
Kleptomania presented a specific psychopathological profile that
distinguished patients with this disorder from patients with alcohol
abuse or dependence and other psychiatric comparison patients.
Impulsivity was the major psychopathological feature of kleptomania.
A link between kleptomania and affective disorder was supported by
the high rate of co morbid affective disorders in patients with
kleptomania and a specific pattern of variation in the two conditions
over time. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm this
pattern. Because kleptomania is characterized by a low rate of co
morbid substance-related disorders other than nicotine dependence
and by severe psychopathology, it could be an appropriate disorder in
which to study the information processes and psychobiology
underlying impulsivity.