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Kleptomania, characterized by a diminished ability to resist recurrent impulses to steal objects that are not needed for their monetary or personal use, has been relatively understudied across the lifespan and particularly in adolescents with propensities for stealing. 4Īlthough stealing may be fairly common, it is unclear how many adolescents who steal suffer from kleptomania. 3 Other research suggests that parent-child difficulties, school failure, and negative peer influences underlie adolescent stealing. Limited research suggests that adolescents who steal have impairments in problem-solving skills and a cognitive bias toward inappropriate solutions to problems. 1ĭespite the early age of onset of stealing, as well as the significant adult morbidity associated with this behavior, stealing among adolescents has historically received relatively little attention from clinicians and researchers. 1 Stealing appears to start generally in childhood or adolescence, with approximately 66% of individuals who reported lifetime stealing beginning before age 15 years. 2 Stealing in adults has been associated with other antisocial behaviors, psychiatric comorbidity (e.g., substance use disorders, pathological gambling, and bipolar disorder), and impaired psychosocial functioning. 1 This finding is consistent with estimates by the National Association of Shoplifting Prevention that 1 in 11 (9.1%) people have shoplifted during their lifetime. A recent, large epidemiological study of adults found that 11.3% of the general population admitted to having shoplifted in their lifetimes. The lifetime prevalence of stealing appears fairly high. Significant distress and loss of control over this behavior suggests that stealing often has significant associated morbidity.
![steal bl steal bl](https://www.mandarake.co.jp/information/2010/06/05/21gcs13/p1.jpg)
Stealing appears fairly common among high school students and is associated with a range of potentially addictive and antisocial behaviors. Poor grades, alcohol and drug use, regular smoking, sadness and hopelessness, and other antisocial behaviors were all significantly (p<.05) associated with any stealing behavior. Twenty-nine (0.72%) students endorsed symptoms consistent with a diagnosis of DSM-IV kleptomania.
![steal bl steal bl](https://auctions.afimg.jp/b160961546/ya/image/b160961546.1.jpg)
A large sample of high school students (n=3999) was examined using a self-report survey with 153 questions concerning demographic characteristics, stealing behaviors, other health behaviors including substance use, and functioning variables such as grades and violent behavior. Although stealing among adolescents appears to be fairly common, an assessment of adolescent stealing and its relationship to other behaviors and health issues is incompletely understood.