Psychoanalytic models Many psychoanalytic theorists suggest that<unk>  is a person's attempt "to obtain symbolic compensation for an actual or anticipated loss", and feel that the key to understanding its etiology lies in the symbolic meaning of the stolen items. Drive theory was used to propose that the act of stealing is a defense mechanism which serves as to modulate or keep undesirable feelings or emotions from being expressed. Some French psychiatrists suggest that<unk> cs may just want the item that they steal and the feeling they get from theft itself. Cognitive-behavioral models Cognitive-behavioral models have been replacing psychoanalytic models in describing the development of<unk> . Cognitive-behavioral practitioners often conceptualize the disorders as being the result of operant conditioning, behavioral chaining, distorted cognitions, and poor coping mechanisms. Cognitive-behavioral models suggest that the behavior is positively reinforced after the person steals some items. If this individual experiences minimal or no negative consequences (punishment), then the likelihood that the behavior will reoccur is increased. As the behavior continues to occur, stronger antecedents or cues become contingently linked with it, in what ultimately becomes a powerful behavioral chain. According to cognitive-behavioral theory (CBT), both antecedents and consequences may either be in the environment or cognitions. For example, Kohn and Antonuccio (2002) describe a client’s antecedent cognitions, which include thoughts such as "I’m smarter than others and can get away with it"; "they deserve it"; "I want to prove to myself that I can do it"; and "my family deserves to have better things". These thoughts were strong cues to stealing behaviors. All of these thoughts were precipitated by additional antecedents which were thoughts about family, financial, and work stressors or feelings of depression. "Maintaining" cognitions provided additional reinforcement for stealing behaviors and included feelings of vindication and pride, for example: "score one for the 'little guy' against the big corporations". Although those thoughts were often afterward accompanied by feelings of remorse, this came too late in the operant sequence to serve as a viable punisher. Eventually, individuals with<unk>  come to rely upon stealing as a way of coping with stressful situations and distressing feelings, which serve to further maintain the behavior and decrease the number of available alternative coping strategies. Biological models Biological models explaining the origins of<unk>  have been based mostly on pharmacotherapy treatment studies that used selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), mood stabilizers, and opioid receptor antagonists. Some studies using SSRIs have observed that opioid antagonists appear to reduce the urge to steal and mute the "rush" typically experienced immediately after stealing by some subjects suffering from<unk> . This would suggest that poor regulation of serotonin, dopamine, and/or natural opioids within the brain are to blame for<unk> , linking it with impulse control and affective disorders. An alternative explanation too based on opioid antagonist studies states that<unk>  is similar to the "self-medication" model, in which stealing stimulates the person’s natural opioid system. "The opioid release 'soothes' the patients, treats their sadness, or reduces their anxiety. Thus, stealing is a mechanism to relieve oneself from a chronic state of hyperarousal, perhaps produced by prior stressful or traumatic events, and thereby modulate affective states."
Kleptomania
Alexithymia
Coprophobia
Acrophobia
Agoraphobia
Cephalalgiaphobia
Psychopathy
Aquaphobia