title: Clinical characteristics and associated psychopathology of 22 patients with kleptomania.
abstract: The current study was constructed to detail the demographic, phenomenological, family history, and treatment response data in a group of patients with kleptomania. Twenty-two subjects, drawn from an outpatient population, with uncontrollable urges to steal completed both a semistructured interview that focused on stealing behavior and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID). Fourteen women and eight men reported an average age of onset of 16 years and an average symptom duration of 21 years. Sixteen patients (73%) reported particular triggers for their urges to steal. Seventeen subjects (77.3%) qualified for a lifetime axis I diagnosis and 9 (40.9%) qualified for a current axis I disorder other than kleptomania. These patients reported severe symptoms, with 15 subjects (68%) reporting intense shame or guilt following the thefts. We conclude that kleptomania is a distressing and disabling disorder associated with high rates of psychiatric comorbidity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55454-1495, USA.
authors.forename: Jon E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.forename: Suck Won
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D015897:Comorbidity; D007174:Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006167:Guilt; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D011599:Psychopathology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology