Can kleptomania be inherited?

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asked Nov 27, 2019 in Mental Health by oticlop (340 points)
Can kleptomania be inherited?

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answered Nov 27, 2019 by gripgetter00 (1,790 points)
There's no medical evidence that says that Kleptomania is actually inherited from other family members.

But if you do have someone in your family such as an aunt, uncle, cousin, mother, father etc that has Kleptomania which is the urge to steal things then it can be likely that you could inherit or at least get the urge yourself when you hear of or see the person stealing items.

The good news is though that Kleptomania is not very common so it's not very likely that you'll suffer Kleptomania just because a family member or even your mom has Kleptomania.

If you or someone does have Kleptomania then it needs to be stopped because it can get you into serious trouble with the law and can land you in jail or even prison if you steal a high value item or items.

Although Kleptomania is recognized in the mental health field as a mental disorder the Kleptomania diagnoses will not hold up in court if someone is arrested for theft or shoplifting.

You can still be ordered to pay fines or serve jail time and be found guilty of shoplifting or theft even though you have been diagnosed with Kleptomania.

You can bring up the case that you suffer from Kleptomania in court when you stole the things and it might help your case somewhat especially if it's only your first offense.

But the judge still has to proceed with doing what is legal and what the court is governed by law to do.

So if you're found guilty of theft and the theft is enough to be a felony then you could still serve prison time for the theft.

Although people with Kleptomania cannot help stealing it's still stealing and needs to be controlled so if you or someone is suffering from Kleptomania you need to get mental help and therapy to help control the urges to steal.

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