Impulse Control Disorders Symptoms - Kleptomania
When children and adolescents severely
struggle to control their emotions and behaviors, they may potentially
be suffering from an impulse control disorder. Impulse control disorders
are characterized by chronic problems in which people lack the ability
to maintain self-control which ultimately results in the onset of
extreme disruptions and dysfunctions in personal, familial, social, and
academic aspects of their lives. Children and adolescents with impulse
control disorders frequently engage in repetitive, destructive behaviors
despite the adverse consequences that arise from the participation in
those behaviors. These individuals do not possess the necessary skills
required to govern behaviors and emotional responses appropriately and
treatment is necessary. Even in cases where individuals suffering from
these conditions have a desire to gain control over their emotions and
behaviors, they find it difficult, and almost impossible, to do so due
to the fact that the urges to participate in the behaviors are
undeniably overwhelming and all-consuming.
Some of the most common forms of impulse
control disorders that present in children and adolescents are described
in the following:
Kleptomania involves
an uncontrollable, irresistible, and repetitive impulse to steal and
hoard items that belong to others. Those who have kleptomania are
commonly aware of the fact that engaging in such behavior is wrong and
senseless, but continue to do so even despite the fact that, in most
cases, the items being stolen are not even something that they need.
Additionally, when these individuals begin feeling the urge to
participate in such theft, they become plagued by feelings of tension
prior to committing the theft, and then feel a sense of pleasure,
gratification, and relief once the theft has been completed. It is also
important to note that, when people have kleptomania, they are not
engaging in theft as a means of expressing anger or vengeance, nor are
they doing so in response to a hallucination or delusion. It is simply
indicative of the presence of this form of mental illness.
Pyromania refers
to the deliberate and purposeful act of setting things on fire in order
to relieve the tension or affective arousal that has arisen prior to
completing the act. People with pyromania have a sincere, albeit
unhealthy, fascination with fire and find pleasure and gratification
upon witnessing the results of their fire-setting.
Compulsive sexual behavior is
typically identified by the presence of excessive and uncontrollable
thoughts about sexual activity or the irrepressible need to participate
in behaviors involving sexual activity. Examples of compulsive sexual
behaviors can include things such as promiscuity, excessive
masturbation, exhibitionism, voyeurism, excessive use of pornography,
and extreme fetishes that become so powerful that the desires to
participate in such behaviors begin to overrule a person’s ability to
function appropriately on a daily basis.
Intermittent explosive disorder tends
to be more frequently diagnosed than other impulse control disorders
and entails physical and/or emotional outbursts that can be aggressive
in nature. These outbursts are recurrent and are characterized by the
presence of extreme tension leading up to the outburst and then are
often followed by feelings of remorse and embarrassment once the outburst has subsided.
CAUSES AND RISK FACTORS OF IMPULSE CONTROL
DISORDERS
Due to the fact that professionals in the mental health field have been
unable to identify a specific cause as to why impulse control disorders
develop, the agreed consensus is that a combination of multiple factors
come into play when leading up to the onset of an impulse control
disorder. Included in the following are examples of such contributing
factors:
Genetic: As is the case with the majority of mental health disorders,
there appears to be a strong genetic tie to the presence of impulse
control disorders. Various studies have shown that children and
adolescents who have family members who struggle with illnesses such as
mood disorders are more susceptible to developing symptoms of impulse
control disorders.
Physical: Research has shown that there is a high probability that when
the specific brain structures that are linked to the functioning of
emotions, planning, and memory become imbalanced, symptoms of impulse
control behaviors can develop.
Environmental: Environmental factors can play a significant role in the
onset of behaviors that are symptomatic of impulse control disorders.
When children are raised in families where violence, verbal abuse,
emotional abuse, physical abuse, and explosive emotional reactions to
certain situations are prevalent, they may be at a higher risk for
developing some type of impulse control disorder. For some children and
adolescents, the onset of such behaviors may be a somewhat unconscious
means of gaining control over situations in which they would otherwise
not have any control and provide them with a sense of escape from the
chaos that surrounds them.
Risk Factors:
Being male
Being of younger age
Chronic exposure to violence and aggressive
Being the subject of physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse and
neglect
Preexisting mental illness
Family history of mental illness
Personal or family history of substance abuse and addiction