When I read these statistics on kleptomania, I wondered if the researchers who wrote this had considered children with fetal alcohol syndrome or children who have been in foster homes or orphanages. The Mayo Clinic article said that they think kleptomania is uncommon; that it begins in adolescence or in a person’s twenties but in rare cases begins in early childhood. They went on to say they believe that, less than five percent of shoplifters have kleptomania. However, they say that it is difficult to pinpoint a number because people who suffer from this disorder rarely seek treatment because probably because of the shame associated with it. When you read the description of kleptomania though it sounds like what our fetal alcohol or traumatized adopted children do.

They define kleptomania as the irresistible urge to steal items that are not really needed and usually have little value. A real and serious mental health disorder, it can tear a person’s life apart if it goes untreated. Kleptomania is one type of an impulse control disorder. That is an irresistible urge to perform an act that you know is not right and yet the urge is so powerful that it cannot be resisted. The urge causes arousal, anxiety, and an uncomfortable tenseness that they feel can only be soothed by stealing. The theft then causes feelings of relief and gratification. After the act, the kleptomaniac feels an enormous amount of guilt, remorse, and self-loathing, and the cycle repeats itself.

The definition sounds like the acts that my daughters’ commit. The article goes on to say that, episodes of kleptomania are triggered by stressful events. For my daughter with FAS and my 10 year old this seems to be every time I leave the house.

While the cause of kleptomania isn't actually known, some evidence suggests that kleptomania may be a problem with serotonin levels. Some risk factors for developing kleptomania are a major loss in life, head trauma, a family history of the disorder. Well all of our adopted children have suffered a major loss in their lives. Some children who have lived in foster care or an orphanage have suffered many major losses. It is something to think about, isn’t it?


Criteria for kleptomania to be diagnosed according to the Mayo Clinic include:

 Inability to resist urges to steal objects that aren't needed for personal use or monetary value
 Increasing tension leading up to the theft
 Pleasure, relief or gratification during the act of stealing
 The theft isn't committed as a way to exact revenge or to express anger, and isn't done while hallucinating or delusional
 The stealing isn't related to manic episodes of bipolar disorder or other mental health disorders, such as antisocial personality disorder

Did You Ever Think, “My Child’s Special Needs Are Too Much to Handle?”
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I Forgot - Living with FAS/FAE
My FAS Child Can’t Stop Stealing


Photo Credit Julia Fuller 2007