Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Discussion

If theft is not caused by poverty, what causes theft?

Definition of Kleptomania

          First it is a type of theft.This people who stole an item are well-educated and rich person. It is an act of stealing that gives a feeling of happiness to a person who’s diagnose that’s why even if they have enough money to buy that stuff they tried to steal it.On an article entitled "Kleptomania - A Compulsion To Steal",by  M. Williams, Ph.D..Based on the article this is because of  mental illness or the defect in the nervous system that affect the decision making of a person. The intense feeling of stealing is the one reason why they keep on stealing even if they know that it is wrong and it is against the law, they don’t steal if they have a strong feeling that they might be caught so we may say that this people are veteran. The characteristics of kleptomania are after they steal they felt guilt and remorse because they know that stealing is bad but they cannot help their intense feeling to steal.

Williams said that,"The stealing is not done to consciously express anger, or in response to a delusion or hallucination. It is not attributed to juvenile delinquency (i.e. conduct disorder), a mood disorder (i.e. bipolar disorder), or sociopathic tendencies (i.e. antisocial personality disorder)."(http://www.brainphysics.com/kleptomania.php)

That why people who's diagnose by kleptomania are depressed and some of them are altered state of conscious during the act of stealing.Being depressed also affects their thinking ability because of some effect in our brain that causes them to be confuse.

         Going deeper to the topic,the American Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition that “kleptomania is a mental disorder”, that is cause by the defect in the nervous system and as for the support of the author of the article entitled “Kleptomania Mental Disorder Moral Failing or Excuse”, by Magda DH that the disorder is accompanied by other psychiatric issues like bipolar or a major depression.Based on the article that kleptomania is defined as, not a normal theft that is stealing for financial problems or for personal gain.The kleptomania is defined as a mental illness that cause by the defect in our brain.

Magda said that, "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".(http://www.lifepaths360.com/index.php/kleptomania-mental-disorder-moral-failing-or-excuse-3882/)

As what Magda said about the kleptomaniac,this also explain the characteristics of the kleptomaniac that after they steal the object they feel guilt and remorse.

          However, on an article entitled “Impulse Control Disorders Kleptomania”,  by Elizabeth M Young.Parenting dysfunction and head trauma is involve. With the contrary on what American Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition and Magda DH the reason why people steal is not actually the cause of the defect in the brain but rather the as for one of causes of depression that gives thrill to a person to steal things are family problems,social problems.


Young said that,"the acts of stealing result in tension release and gratification, but term "ego dystopia" applies, as the sufferer feels guilt and does not want to steal, but is compelled to steal, anyway."(http://www.sciences360.com/index.php/impulse-control-disorders-kleptomania-11473/)

The tension and gratification are the things that motivates a person to steal that's why even if they don't want to steal they still do because this feeling pushes them to do.

         

          With regard to the behaviour of the kleptomania, Mandi Woodruff  talks about the professor who's stealing even though  he have a lot of money.As for the researcher research that, the kleptomania are those rich and well educated persons.As for the Mandi, Dr. Cupchik the profesor that she's talking about is a kleptomaniac and for her it is because of being angry to his neighbor, but according to Dr. Cupchik a kleptomaniac is not stealing because his angry but because of his illness.

Woodruff said that there are characteristics of a kleptomaniac:" the strong desire that encourage them to steal things;the stuff that they steal is the things that they can actually afford;they steal because it makes them happy that's why they are doing it again and again;after stealing items they feel guilt and shame on what they did because they know that it is not right;and lastly,they steal not committed to express anger but to give happiness to them."(http://www.businessinsider.com/a-psychologist-wants-to-convince-science-that-kleptomania-doesnt-exist-2012-2)

This is the reason why kleptomania is very difficult to have a treatment because of the many causes of it.But base on the researcher research that the cognitive behavioral therapy is the one that they use to treat the kleptomania that helps a person to become more aware about himself by simply talking to others and sharing his/her problem,but there are also many treatment that they use that base on the cause of kleptomania.

Regarding to the behaviour, Doree Lewak the author of the article “'Tis the season to be... stealing? ."How rise of kleptomania during the holidays affects party hosts as much as department stores”.In this article the author talks about the feelings that the kleptomania felt that because of their stealing habit Sta. Claus will not give them a gift because of their bad attitudes.This will motivate them to steal because of the thought that they are being discriminated. 

 Lewak said that,"People want to give, so they steal. Giving and stealing aren't that far away. Stealing is a kind of ritual, and giving is a ritual."(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2070217/Tis-season--stealing-How-rise-kleptomania-holidays-affects-party-hosts-department-stores.html).

For some reason giving gift is necessary to us because we want our beloved to be happy.In some way people are doing it even though they don't have enough money as long as their love once  are happy they will do every thing even stealing.As the life of the kleptomaniac they experience a sociopath or being discriminated by the society. The feeling of the children that because he steal things sta. Claus did not give him a gift because of his bad attitude.This feeling of frustration can lead to a jealous that pushes him to steal things of others.

Factors influencing kleptomania

A. Social Problems

         The normal and stable life of a person or individual affects the comments of other people that could leads them to be depressed and a feeling of downfall because being judgemental and stereotypical thinking of other people. It may also affect their career and their family because of the lost of money when they caught stealing.

          However,In an article entitled "kleptomania Overview", by Dr.Craig Freudenrich that there is also a gender bias regarding to this disorder because according to him,

“kleptomania occurs more on women than  men because when women  steal, they tend to get psychiatric evaluations, while men are sent directly to prison.”
(http://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/mental-disorders/kleptomania.htm).

 This is because our society today is more protected to the women rather than a man because for the society that a man can actually protect himself but a women cannot. And also there are facts that man usually steal is a item like guns or a thing that is more valuable but women steals only the thing in the grocery stores like sardines, chocolate toothpaste and other stuff that is very affordable.

            Base on Dylan Lavene article entitled "Confession of Kleptomaniac", she talks about the boy who's a kleptomaniac since he was a kid.The boy is a sun of a religious people who is more active in their church.As for the boy, became kleptomaniac because of the being shame and humiliated that despite of his father is known as a religious people, the society expect that he also act with moral.But based on what he is doing he chooses to become a theft because he cannot achieve the high expectation of his father and other people to him.But when his father got a work and because of that his father don't have time to go to church.His mother went to other town for an additional income.He became free, happy and stop stealing, but he became addicted in drugs.Based on him he can't go to school without taking weeds and after loosing enough money to buy weeds he go back to stealing.

According to Dr. Jeff Gardere that, " We do see very young children who begin to steal and it is a sign of some emotional disturbance, a lack of permanence in their lives or a psycho-symbolic way to fill the void in their lives,”  he also said that, “That void may come from a lack of love from parental figures, or from emotionally unhealthy environments.”(http://www.salon.com/2012/10/10/confessions_of_a_kleptomaniac/)

In this article not only shows the causes of the kleptomaniac but also the things that the parents should to in-order for them to give a right moral for their children.


            Continuation by Lars Leetaru on his article entitled"Is My Child a Kleptomaniac?", that "stealing usually starts in as young as child".In his article he talks about why stealing starts from childhood.And this is because they want to try everything that's the parental guidance is considered to be the parents weapon to develop the moral values of their child.

Dr.Klass wrote that,"2-4 year olds will take something, probably because they are struggling with the concept of mine vs. yours and sharing in general. A two year old is not a thief.And 5-8 year olds know the rules of ownership. If they take something that’s not theirs they will hide it, even deny they took it if confronted."

 Dr. Klass said that "a pattern of stealing without any remorse can mark a serious problem – and that child needs help right away". 
(http://draletta.typepad.com/explorewhatsnext/2009/08/is-my-child-a-kleptomaniac.html)

That is why without parental guidance the life of the child will be prone to stealing and other crimes.

                In an article entitled "Derren Brown: 'Most magicians are kleptomaniacs’ ", by Sarah Rainey,she talks about Derren Brown and how he developed his ability of duplicity.As we all know, magicians are masters of deception-- they can misdirect the attention of people, creating an opening for theft.But in the case of Brown he became a magician because he want it to be accepted socially. His skills developed and made him a successful magician. However, the cause of Brown's kleptomania is because of his experience as a magician.

      According to Brown that,“he was quite precocious and developed a nose for duplicity, which came from being a bit of a loner.” (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/10081517/Derren-Brown-Most-magicians-are-kleptomaniacs.html)

This article emphasize us that in order to become accepted by the society you should learn to socialized or to become cool or amazing. 

B. The Illness and disorder of kleptomaniacs

             All the physician and psychologist are having a hard time to know what is the real cause of kleptomania that's the difficulty of this problem is almost impossible to them.

For instance,Jon Grant says that, Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D"this is cause by the defect in the molecule that transports the neurotransmitter serotonin who is responsible for regulating moods and emotional balance".(http://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/mental-disorders/kleptomania2.htm)

This is one of the reasons that influence them to steal.Based on the researcher research that the people who is diagnosed by kleptomania is suffering with depression.As what Grant says,. also believe that it is a neurological basis that may cause a head trauma that damage to the circuits between orbital and frontal lobes of the brain.

         On an article entitled "The Sexual Root of Kleptomania",Dr.Wilhelm Stekel about the reason why kleptomania is more common in women,The sexual desire of the women.

 According to Dr. Stekel," women are more likely to have kleptomania because of their unfulfilled sexual desire". (http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1093&context=jclc)

Generally, our society's perspective of women are not into sexual acts compared to men. Thus, women's lust accumulates,and as it goes to a level beyond their control, hysteria occurs, leading to kleptomania. Another aspect that may cause kleptomania, is a person's psychological status-- a person with kleptomania  may have the capability to buy something that they don't particularly like, but they will choose to take it rather than to purchase it because it helps them have peace of mind.

Misconceptions about kleptomania

        a. Kleptomania's cause are known

                   "There have been no rigorous or conclusive studies on the neurological basis of kleptomania."  Its cause are still unknown; but there are possible causes of kleptomania:

• "A defect in a molecule that transports the neurotransmitter serotonin " Serotonin is a part of the brain that regulates a person's emotion. A damage in this part could cause problems in the nervous system. Therefore, a person with kleptomania have impaired judgement.

• "Head trauma: damage to circuits between the orbital and frontal lobes of the brain, or low blood flow to the temporal lobe." 

     (http://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/mental-disorders/kleptomania2.htm)

    b. Kleptomania can be prevented and cured

               Neurobiology and pharmacological's state in today's time cannot provide evidence in the cause of kleptomania. Moreover, they cannot give cure; but psychologists have tried therapies in helping kleptomaniacs:

• "Covert sensitization: When the patient feels the urge to steal, he must imagine negative consequences until the impulse goes away." A person imaging his/her regret will feel guilt and the desire to take something may subside.

•  "Aversion therapy: When the patient feels the urge to steal, he holds his breath until it is slightly painful. Eventually, he associates the unpleasant feelings with the urge, and the impulse to steal diminishes." Compared to the statement earlier, which is something psychological, the pain in this therapy is physically felt; decreasing the desire to steal.

• "Systemic desensitization: The patient undergoes relaxation therapy and learns to substitute relaxing feelings for the urge to steal." The two therapies mentioned earlier involved pain either mentally or physically. However, this therapy includes relaxation that may also reduce the urge to steal.      

       (http://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/mental-disorders/kleptomania2.htm)

         

   

          

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Introduction

 A. Background of the Study

           People think of theft as a moral failure. Since childhood most people have been told never to steal. When you take something that doesn't belong to you, the person you stole from is placed at a disadvantage. Stealing has multiple, negative social consequences. If society has become tolerant of stealing, many industries would fail. Many moral guidelines discourage stealing. Even in the Bible, stealing is one of God's Ten Commandments.

Mike Bennet wrote an article entitled "Eighth Commandment: You Shall Not Steal." In that article he discussed the nature of theft, the kinds of theft, and what the Christian religion has to say about it. According to him, the eighth commandment is meant to do more than just prevent people from stealing.

Benett writes, "Many human laws have been made to try to protect personal possessions and property from those who would seek to take them for themselves. But the intent of God's Eighth Commandment goes deeper" (http://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/10-commandments/stealing-eighth-commandment/).

           Other people believe that theft is the result of a lack of guidance.Since childhood most people have been told never to steal. When we do mistakes like stealing; because we are a kid we don not know what we are doing ,so it is the responsibility of the parents to guide us and to teach us the right moral that we need in order to be a good part of the community.

           Eric Jou wrote an article entitled "10-Year-Old Girl Steals Over $1,600 to Play Video Games". In that article he discussed Ah Hong; the little girl who stole the money from the celphone store.According to the police the reason why this little girl Ah Hong steal is because of his bad gaming habit and no parental supervision and also because his father is at work and the only person there is her grand parent.

Jou writes,"The lack of parental guidance isn't an excuse for theft".
(http://kotaku.com/5967080/10-year-old-girl-steals-over-1600-to-play-video-games)

            A kleptomaniac is a thief.As for the safety of the life of the child parents are very strict to what the attitudes that they want to build up with their children.According to the researcher research that stealing usually starts at as young as childhood because in that age we usually want to try everything .From being depressed people don't have enough strength to think wisely this might be a problem to their family or a problem to his/her environment.

            Sunita Giri wrote an article entitled "Kleptomania or plain thief." In that article the author discussed the life of a child that because of kleptomania he pulled out from his school.He stole a gold chain from his rich classmates and the discrimination about  what he do leads him to be kicked out to his school because of the reason that the rich kid could not go to school with the gold chain in their neck.Basically it is not the reason why Damak; the kid that we are talking about,he steal because his father don't want to give him a small change of money even if he needed it and demanded to.That thing leads him to be a kleptomaniac.

Giri writes,"Stealing lies everywhere and all we need to do is to pay close attention in that kind of  behavior regardless of their background."
(http://idaredream.blogspot.com/2013/09/kleptomania-or-plain-thief.html)

              People think that a kleptomaniac is immoral & lacks guidance.As what our parents told us that stealing is always be a bad thing, whatever reason we have because getting the things that is not ours are immoral that is why many people are discouraging the theft .For them its is immoral because of the fact we usually see people as a high and integrated species because of their capability to think and also stealing is a crime that against the law that is why this is immoral.

Funom Makama wrote an article entitled "Stealing And Kleptomania As Character And Personality Problems."In that article Makama discussed the definition of stealing what are the causes of stealing, the definition of kleptomania and management of stealing and kleptomania.According to the author that one of the causes of stealing is the lack of parental guidance that their children need.Another causes is lack of moral standards or immoral; since our super-ego is responsible for our conscience,some people who steal have failed to develop their super-ego.

Makama write," if kleptomania is a result of lack of love, the parents or the surrogate parents or guardians must provide love and warmth."
(http://health.wikinut.com/Stealing-And-Kleptomania-As-Character-And-Personality-Problems/fmg4uvw_/)
               

Because kleptomaniacs steal, people make judgments about them. Some people call them immoral, while others believe that they were not raised properly by their parents. However, the researcher observes that kleptomania is not a moral issue, but a psychological one. Kleptomania is a mental disorder. The researcher believes that kleptomaniacs should not be judged, because their actions are caused by an illness.

It is important that we break misconception regarding kleptomania to avoid making judgments about people regarding their capacity for crime.


The purpose of this paper is to explain why kleptomaniacs should not be judged for stealing.


B. Statement of the Problem

 This study aims to answer this question:

  1. Why do kleptomaniacs steal?

C. Significance of the Study

 Teenagers. This research paper would be able to help them especially the students because of the information that they will get to boost their morals by simply understand the situation of the kleptomaniac so that instead of discouraging them or insulting them they can help because they have knowledge why that person is stealing.

Future Researchers.This study is crucial for future researchers to make similar studies about the kleptomania and information that they will get in this research would definitely give a big contribution when they also work on similar topic or a topic that is related in the abnormalities of an individual.

Parents.Knowledge in this study would help the parents specially the single parents to understand their children and to inform them that they should love their children more than anything by simply giving them the right moral that they may get until they go to their adulthood.

Psychologists. This will benefit to them because they would be able to use of the information imparted in this research.

D. Scope and Delimitation

         This study focuses on why  kleptomaniacs should not be judged for stealing. Due to the time constraints, this study will no longer discuss the other type of theft. This is to give emphasis on why do kleptomaniacs steal. Moreover, the researchers believe that the thief have been the problem of most of the retailers in America based on his research.
Therefore, this study will not only give benefit to the simple people in the community but also the businessman especially those people who wants to build a grocery store to be more aware about this people.


E. Materials and Methods
    
         This research will employ descriptive method since the researchers aim to describe and to discuss and explain  why kleptomaniacs should not be judged for stealing . The sources of data will be used in the research are the articles came from the internet. The researchers select the respondent by having curiosity on this topic. This thing somehow caught my attention because here in the Philippines many people are stealing just to survive or just to sustain their habit and not only those people who are poor that steal but also those people who is corrupted that steal money from our government . For some people who misunderstood stealing, it is not only the cause of poverty and later I discuss it to you in chapter 2. The researchers suggested, not only to the person who steal but also to the parents to have a better relationship with their children because based on the study of the researcher that one of the reason why the children are included in this scenario because of the sociopath or the psychopath or in other word discrimination that they don’t know that their children is being discriminated. Like quote of Albert Einstein that “In every action there is an equal opposite reaction”. This saying leads us to what the society thinks about the theft.

F. Definition of Terms

Theft .  This are the people who steal anything that from the other person or individual.

Duplicity. This is an ability of dishonest or ability to trick people.
Shoplifting. This is an act of a person who stole an item from the store. 
Sociopath or psychopath. This is the feeling of being discriminated by the society or your environment.
Greed.intense and selfish desire for something.
Serotonin. It is the chemical in the brain that regulates the mood and intestinal movements of the brain.

The Kleptomaniac

THE KLEPTOMANIAC

A Research Paper Presented to 

The English Resource Center

School of Multi-media Arts

Asia Pacific College

Magallanes,Makati

In Partial Fulfillment 

of the Requirements for the Course 

ERESWRT-Research Writing 

Mark Jerome P. Rivera

April 2013