Kleptomania has been recognized as a mental disorder since 1838, although it has also provoked an ethical, philosophical and medical controversies. American Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, includes kleptomania with other impulse control disorders. However, it has been also argued that kleptomania is not a mental disorder but rather a form of sociopathic, deviant behavior, e.i. a moral failing.

Before deciding whether kleptomania is a “real” disorder, a moral failing or an excuse, one needs to understand what kleptomania actually is. It is currently described as a recurring, compulsive stealing of objects that are not needed for personal use or for their monetary value. The act of stealing is preceded by raising tension and anxiety that is relieved by a pleasure of the act and causes significant distress and dysfunction afterwards. Unlike sociopaths, kleptomaniacs feel guilt and remorse. The thefts are not motivated by monetary gain, personal use or a desire to impress.

Even this short description makes it clear that kleptomania is, by definition, not a “normal” theft, if a normal theft is an act that makes a financial or other practical sense for the perpetrator. Kleptomaniacs don’t steal for personal gain, and they might have enough money to be able to buy the items they steal. They might shoplift as well as steal from family members, co-workers and friends. The key feature of the disorder is its compulsive character: an unbearable tension and anxiety, alleviated by the pleasure and relief experienced in the act of stealing, and followed by guilt and remorse. It is estimated that around 5% of shoplifters in the US suffer from kleptomania. The disorder is more common in women and is very frequently accompanied by other psychiatric issues, most commonly the bipolar disorder or a major depression. Its prevalence in the US population is estimated at around 1 per 150 adults, although as sufferers are very secretive, it’s not actually precisely known.

It can be confidently accepted that kleptomania is a genuine problem that a not-insubstantial number of people suffer from. Its inclusion as a psychiatric disorder is probably more appropriate and significantly more convincing than many other entries in the DSM IV-TR. As all genuinely compulsive behaviors, and especially those that result in socially unacceptable, illegal or self-destructive consequences, it causes a lot of distress, shame and guilt as well as legal and societal issues.
Kleptomania certainly cannot be seen as a moral failing: one of the defining characteristics of kleptomania is full awareness of the illegal and immoral character of the compulsive stealing. The fact that the stolen items are almost always unneeded and that apart from a momentary buzz of the act the kleptomaniac doesn’t benefit at all from his (or rather, hers, as the majority of sufferers are women) theft is a clear proof that although something is wrong with the kleptomaniac behavior, it is not the lack of moral principles as such but rather problems with impulse control and somewhat defective wiring of the pleasure centers in the brain.

Kleptomania as an excuse doesn’t make sense at all: it’s unlikely that a thief would be able to use an excuse of kleptomania, as – as specified above – kleptomaniac thefts are different from thefts for personal gain. In fact, one could probably argue that at least some thefts that have, to an outside observer, an element of personal gain are actually compulsive: if a poor person shoplifts, then it’s much harder to show that they didn’t benefit from the act than if a middle-class or wealthy individual steals.

All this doesn’t mean that some individuals that don’t suffer from kleptomania won’t attempt to use it as an excuse. The modern society tends to medicalize many phenomena that in the past used to be treated as either an example of human variety, normal human experiences or moral failings and looking for psychiatric ways out is common.

In legal and ethical thinking, two questions are usually asked before attributing moral responsibility for socially unacceptable an/or illegal behaviors: Did the perpetrator know what they were doing? Could they choose to act otherwise?

Kleptomaniacs certainly know what they are doing, and recognize the moral wrong of their actions, but by the very definition of kleptomania, cannot choose to act otherwise.

The important ethical question that needs to be addressed here is: is the existence of compulsion a sufficient ground for abdicating the moral responsibility? One can answer it by taking the argument to the extreme. If the compulsion didn’t concern the irresistible urge to steal useless items, but for example an urge to kill or maim other people, would the compulsive character of this urge was enough to justify continuing with the behavior?

One can argue that individuals who are unable to control their impulses towards immoral, illegal or socially unacceptable acts, still have a moral duty to protect others from the consequences. The Christian Bible says: “And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you. It is better for you to lose one of your body parts than to have your whole body go into hell.” (Matthew 5:30). It would be rather extreme to follow this prescription literally, but it contains a valid ethical point.

Adult human beings are deemed responsible for the control of their impulses. If the control by the will of the individual doesn’t work, then other means should be used. A person afflicted by a psychiatric disorder that causes a profound and uncontrollable urge to steal, who believes that stealing is immoral, has a moral obligation to seek treatment. They also have a moral obligation to return the stolen items to individuals and in other situations, minimize exposure to triggers and avoid situations (including shops, especially busy self-service ones) where stealing would be easier and more likely. 

Sources:
[1] Stephen J. Hucker. (2005) Kleptomania @ Forensic Psychiatry.ca. Retrieved on 16 Feb 2011 from http://www.forensicpsychiatry.ca/impulse/kleptomania.htm
[2] Elias Aboujaoude, M.D., Nona Gamel, M.S.W., and Lorrin M. Koran, M.D. (2004)
Overview of Kleptomania and Phenomenological Description of 40 Patients. Prim Care Companion J Clin Psychiatry. 2004; 6(6): 244–247. Retrieved on 16 Feb 2011 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC535651/