Adolescent kleptomania treated with naltrexone

Abstract

Kleptomania, an often secret inability to resist the impulse to steal objects not needed for personal use or their monetary value, is an underrecognized disorder that is unknown to many clinicians. Kleptomania has gone virtually unmentioned in the adolescent literature, despite the fact that kleptomania often has its onset during adolescence. This report presents a case of an adolescent with kleptomania who responded to naltrexone. The clinical features of kleptomania are reviewed, as are available data on the treatment of this distressing and often disabling disorder.