Shoplifting in the mentally ill: the role of bipolar affective disorder and mental retardation.
This study explores shoplifting behaviour in mentally ill patients, and evaluates the association between shoplifting and different mental illnesses in a local Chinese population. A comparison is made between shoplifting offenders and a matched control group of non-offenders among the psychiatric patients registered at a university department of psychiatry. Major depression, bipolar affective disorder (BAD) and mental retardation (MR) are the most common diagnoses among mentally ill shoplifters, while patients with a diagnosis of BAD or MR are at higher risk of committing an offence than patients with other diagnoses. Bipolar affective disorder has not been described as a risk factor for shoplifting behaviour in the psychiatric literature. Such a possibility should be seriously considered in the psychiatric assessment of shoplifting cases.
Cheng
Rachel S Y
RS
Department of Psychiatry, Tai Po Hospital, Hong Kong.
Lin
Candy
C
Fok
Marcella L Y
ML
Leung
Chi-Ming
CM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001714:Bipolar Disorder; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013800:Theft / Q000523:psychology*