Anxiety, Significant Losses, Depression, and Irrational Beliefs in First-Offence Shoplifters

Objective: To evaluate the relationship among demographic data, anxiety, significant losses, depression, and irrational beliefs reported by first-offence shoplifters. Method: One hundred and six adult shoplifters who were first-time offenders completed a self-administered questionnaire. Results: Men...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian journal of psychiatry 2000-02, Vol.45 (1), p.63-66
Main Authors: Lamontagne, Yves, Boyer, Richard, Hétu, Céline ILL, Lacerte-Lamontagne, Céline
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Aged
Anxiety - diagnosis
Anxiety - epidemiology
Anxiety - psychology
Attitude
Biological and medical sciences
Canada
Catchment Area (Health)
Compulsive Behavior - psychology
Criminals
Depression - diagnosis
Depression - epidemiology
Depression - psychology
Female
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Prevalence
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Severity of Illness Index
Shoplifting
Social Behavior Disorders - epidemiology
Social Behavior Disorders - psychology
Social behavior disorders. Criminal behavior. Delinquency
Surveys and Questionnaires
Theft - psychology
Theft - statistics & numerical data
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Summary:Objective: To evaluate the relationship among demographic data, anxiety, significant losses, depression, and irrational beliefs reported by first-offence shoplifters. Method: One hundred and six adult shoplifters who were first-time offenders completed a self-administered questionnaire. Results: Men and women were equally likely to be arrested for this offence. The majority of offenders were poor and unemployed. Depression, but not anxiety, was the most common psychiatric disorder associated with shoplifting. Subjects with depression presented the greatest number of irrational beliefs related to shoplifting. Conclusions: The authors suggest 2 categories of shoplifters: those who shoplift through rational choice; and those for whom shoplifting is a response to depression or leads to the fulfilment of some psychological needs. In conclusion, shoplifting does not have a unitary motive, and the clinical implications are that the affective and cognitive aspects of shoplifters' behaviours must be taken into account.
ISSN:0706-7437
1497-0015
DOI:10.1177/070674370004500109