Kleptomania or malingering? A case report

[Kleptomani mi, temaruz mu? Bir olgu sunumu]

Abstract

The essential feature for the diagnosis of kleptomania is a recurrent failure to resist impulses to steal items, even though those items are not needed for personal use or for their monetary value. The individual experiences an increasing sense of tension just prior to the theft and feels pleasure, gratification, or relief when committing the theft.These patients are usually referred to psychiatry for the evaluation of criminal liability by a court order. The content of the court file as well as the act defined by the subject and the presence of a mental disorder should be taken into account. In case of shoplifting, ma-lingering must be ruled out first even if the subject has a previously confirmed diagnosis of kleptomania. Here we present a different case of a patient with kleptomania who was referred to us by a court order to determine her criminal liability for shoplifting.