kleptomania - psychological disorder

Kleptomania (Greek: κλέπτειν, kleptein, "to steal", μανία, "mania") is the psychological disorder of not being able to resist consistent tendency to steal.
People with this disorder are eager to steal things of little or no value, such as pens, paper clips, tape, small toys, or packets of sugar or sachets of honey. Some may event not be aware that they have committed the theft. What is more,according to statistics, of all reported shoplifting, only 1% are actually kleptomaniacs.

There are some symptoms of kleptomania:
1)Recurrent failure to resist impulses to steal objects that are not needed for personal use or for their monetary value.
2)Increasing sense of tension immediately before committing the theft.
3)Pleasure, gratification, or relief at the time of committing the theft.
4)The stealing is not committed to express anger or vengeance and is not in response to a delusion or a hallucination.

Kleptomania is thought to be uncommon. However, because many people with kleptomania never seek treatment or they're simply jailed after repeated thefts, many cases of kleptomania may never be diagnosed. Kleptomania often begins in adolescence or in the 20s, but in rare cases it begins in the early childhood.
Researchers are not sure about the things that can be the cause of kleptomania,but there are the factors that may increase the risk of developing kleptomania. These risk factors may include:

1) Strong life stressors, such as a major loss
2) Head trauma or brain injuries
3) Having blood relatives with kleptomania, mood disorders, addictions or obsessive-compulsive disorder
4) Being preoccupied with financial success or material gains.

There is also a thought that healthy upbringing, positive intimate relationships, and management of acutely stressful situations may lower the incidence of kleptomania.

Usually people who have kleptomania get arrested, so that nobody can ever find out, that he or she has this disorder. But there can be more complications like in many cases they become depressive, have alcohol abuse and eating disorders. Moreover, they usually feel anxiety, have suicidal thoughts or behavior and can even become socially isolated.

All things considered, there should be more researches made to help people with this disorder, and to prevent other people from being theft.

References:
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/k/kleptomania/symptoms.htm
http://www.doctorndtv.com/topicsh/Kleptomania.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleptomania
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/kleptomania/DS01034/DSECTION=risk-factors
http://psychcentral.com/disorders/sx23.htm