Titre du document / Document title

Kleptomanie und Ladendiebstahl: Ein historischer Überblick = Kleptomania and shoplifting: a historical review

Auteur(s) / Author(s)

Leygraf Norbert ⁽¹⁾ ;

Affiliation(s) du ou des auteurs / Author(s) Affiliation(s)

⁽¹⁾ Institut für Forensische Psychiatrie der, Universität Duisburg-Essen, 45147, Essen, Deutschland

Résumé / Abstract

The phenomenon of illness-indicating theft acts committed by apparently psychologically normal offenders engages psychiatry since the beginning of the 19^th century. With the specialist term kleptomania therefore an independent syndrome was created, which was seen as an isolated disturbance of the will (monomania). Structural abnormalities of the brain, women-specific life conditions, problems in early childhood development and the seductions of offensive advertisement strategies of modern big stores were esteemed as causally responsible. In spite of often voiced criticism, the conception of a mental disorder, which is expressed only by theft acts had outlasted more than 150 years. In the currently valid classification systems of mental diseases, kleptomania as well as the leading symptoms are classified as an impulse control disorder. This fact by all appearances has awarded them the grade of detectability. However, in fact these criteria prove as unspecific. The problem with it is that the question of an illness background of theft acts is posed mostly in the context of assessing the criminal responsibility. In fact illness-conditioned stealing is found only as a symptom among other quite different mental diseases and extraordinary situational charges. The concentration to the only theft act carries the risk of disregarding the careful exploration and preparation of the real psychological problem.

Revue / Journal Title

Forensische Psychiatrie, Psychologie, Kriminologie    ISSN  1862-7080 

Source / Source

2009, vol. 3, n^o2, pp. 107-115 [9 page(s) (article)]

Langue / Language

Allemand
Revue : Anglais

Editeur / Publisher

Springer, Heidelberg, ALLEMAGNE  (2006) (Revue)

Mots-clés d'auteur / Author Keywords

Kleptomania

;

Shoplifting

;

Monomania

;

Impulse control disorders

;

Localisation / Location

35400060231744.0007