Understanding Kleptomania: Causes and Implications

Kleptomania is a mental health condition that is characterised by an urge to steal things even though the person is well aware it is wrong.

Such behaviour is often on the basis of impulse, as the patient does not need the stolen item personally or financially. There is an overwhelming desire to steal.

It can affect their life to a great extent, and many people try to conceal it, seeking help only when they get into legal trouble.

People with kleptomania steal things over and over again, most of the time from stores, known as shoplifting.

Even though people with kleptomania may know that stealing is wrong, they still can’t help but do it again and again.

Although the exact cause of kleptomania is not yet fully understood, there are several factors that have been identified that we will discuss in this article.

Having an immediate family member with kleptomania, such as a parent or sibling, can increase your chances of developing it.

Kleptomania is frequently linked to other mental health conditions. If these mental health conditions occur in a close relative, they increase the risk of kleptomania.

These conditions can include OCD, alcoholism or other substance use, mood disorders or depression.

Genetic predispositions may result in neurochemical imbalances of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin. These imbalances can affect mood and impulse control and thus lead to the development of kleptomania.

In people with kleptomania, there’s increased activity of a gene called Fosb in the nucleus accumbens (a part of the reward system of the brain). When this gene is overactive, it may make the person more sensitive to rewards, such as the excitement or thrill from stealing.1

These include the serotonin, dopamine and opioid systems.

Serotonin is involved in mood, emotions, and impulse control. Impulsivity and poor self-control are linked to low levels of serotonin. Low levels of serotonin or serotonin transport problems may reduce a person’s ability to control urges, thus resulting in impulsive behaviours, such as stealing. This could explain why people with kleptomania act without thinking.1

Dopamine is linked to the reward system in the brain and plays a role in pleasure and motivation. Dopamine release gives pleasure and satisfaction. The actions that cause the release of dopamine are repeated again and again in order to gain satisfaction.1

In kleptomania, stealing acts as a reward, which results in dopamine release and satisfaction.

Some people may have a “reward deficiency”, causing them to seek pleasure through risky behaviours, such as stealing.3

Opioids are involved in the reduction of pain and produce feelings of euphoria and pleasure. They also play a role in reward and addiction by increasing dopamine release. The opioid system, along with dopamine, leads to cravings and satisfactions by seeking thrilling acts, such as stealing in the case of kleptomania.1

Kleptomania involves the brain region called the amygdala, which functions to process emotions along with learning from emotional experiences. The area plays a substantial part in behavioural addiction. It also has neurons that use neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and opioids.1

These two critical brain regions make up an important part of the brain's reward system. Opioids stimulate dopamine release in both the VTA and the NA, reinforcing reward pathways.1

The prefrontal cortex is a brain region responsible in judgment, impulse control, and decision-making. Reduced activity in this region may contribute to poor impulse control, making it difficult for individuals with kleptomania to resist the urge to steal. Acting on impulse and lacking inhibitory control, along with poor decision-making, results in continuous occurrences.3,4

Some drugs have been linked to kleptomania. When people stop taking the medication or reduce its dosage, the symptoms disappear.

These drugs are the antipsychotic medication, aripiprazole, dopamine agonists used in Parkinson's disease treatment and the antidepressants, duloxetine and venlafaxine.4

People who experience head trauma or brain injuries and patients with conditions such as epilepsy, frontotemporal dementia, encephalitis, subarachnoid haemorrhage, frontal lobe tumours, neuro-behcet's disease, or hypoxic-ischaemic brain injury may develop kleptomania.2,4

Kleptomania comes frequently with other mental conditions.Kleptomania can be found in conjunction with depression, anxiety, eating disorders, bipolar disorder, and mood disorders.1,4

In fact, in patients with depression, shoplifting may act as a way of getting away from unpleasant thoughts.3

Kleptomania can be considered a type of addictive behaviour and is associated with other substance use disorders, such as alcohol or nicotine addiction.1,5 Naltrexone, a drug used in treating alcohol and opioid use disorder, has been found to be useful in treating kleptomania.2

Some experts believe that kleptomania can sometimes be related to problems with a person’s sexual feelings or experiences.

For instance, if someone has suppressed or repressed sexual desires, they may exhibit other forms of behaviour, such as stealing.

In fact, some people with kleptomania use stealing as a way to express their sexual desires.2,4

Negative childhood experiences and having parents who are neglectful or abusive can also contribute to the development of kleptomania. Stealing may represent the reclamation of the traumas of childhood.2

Kleptomania is more common in people assigned female at birth. Fluctuations in mood, which are commonly experienced by people assigned female at birth, for example, during pregnancy, menstruation, or menopause may cause kleptomania.1

Kleptomania doesn’t stem from a single cause. Instead, it arises from a complex interplay of psychological influences, neurochemical imbalances, and genetic factors. A deeper understanding and careful evaluation of these underlying factors can lead to more effective management by addressing the condition at its root.

Kleptomania is more than just stealing; it is a mental health problem with serious consequences. The condition has both mental health and legal complications.

People who suffer from kleptomania typically avoid seeking help until their problem becomes exposed through major incidents, such as getting caught stealing and facing legal consequences.

People who experience this disorder understand their actions are improper but feel an uncontrollable urge that pushes them to perform the behaviour.

Kleptomania develops from multiple factors, including emotional and psychological conditions, together with neurological elements and genetic predispositions.

This condition commonly appears with other mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety, as well as addiction. In some individuals, it stems from unaddressed childhood traumas alongside suppressed emotions, but brain chemistry and structural differences affect others.

Kleptomania remains one of those serious conditions that receives little understanding from society. The hidden behaviour of numerous people remains unrevealed because they choose to conceal their actions from others until they get caught or reach a point of crisis.

Understanding kleptomania as a real mental health condition helps people recognise that this condition operates beyond personal control.

Kleptomania affects people assigned female at birth more than people assigned male at birth.

No. People with kleptomania often steal due to an uncontrollable impulse, not for personal or financial gain.

No, kleptomania is a rare condition. While other mental health conditions increase the risk of developing kleptomania, not everyone with a mental health disorder develops it.

While there is a chance to develop kleptomania if it is a close relative like a sibling or a parent, it is not a 100 percent certain that you will develop kleptomania.

If you suspect kleptomania, you should consult and confirm with a psychiatrist.

Yes, people with kleptomania can feel guilty and ashamed after stealing something.

Psychiatry. 3rd ed. Chichester: Wiley- Blackwell; 2008.

Grant JE, Potenza MN, editors. The Oxford handbook of impulse control disorders. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2012. 1 p. (Oxford library of psychology).