478 Disruptive, Impulse-Control, and Conduct Disorders
Kleptomania
Diagnostic Criteria 312.32 (F63.2)
A. Recurrent failure to resist impulses to steal objects that are not needed for personal
use or for their monetary value.
B. Increasing sense of tension immediately before committing the theft.
C. Pleasure, gratification, or relief at the time of committing the theft.
D. The stealing is not committed to express anger or vengeance and is not in response
to a delusion or a hallucination.
E. The stealing is not better explained by conduct disorder, a manic episode, or antisocial
personality disorder.
Diagnostic Features
The essential feature of kleptomania is the recurrent failure to resist impulses to steal items
even though the items are not ne eded for personal use or for their monetary value (Criterion
A). The individual experiences a rising subjective  sense of tension before  the theft (Criterion B)
and feels pleasure, gratification, or relief when  committing the theft (Criterion C). The stealing
is not committed to express anger or vengeance, is not done in response to a delusion or hal-
lucination (Criterion D), and is  not better explained by conduc t disorder, a manic episode, or
antisocial personality disorder (Criterion E). The objects are stolen despite the fact that they are
typically of little value to the individual, who could have afforded to pay for them and often
gives them away or discards them. Occasionally  the individual may hoard the stolen objects or
surreptitiously return them. Al though individuals with this disorder will generally avoid
stealing when immediate arrest is probable (e.g., in full view of a po lice officer), they usually
do not preplan the thefts or fully take into ac count the chances of apprehension. The stealing is