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All bored, lonely women or people who steal because they're broke. In fact, a large study published in The American Journal of Psychiatry in 2008 found that men shoplifted more than women.

But the old stereotypes are powerful, thanks in part to the 19^th century, when kleptomania was first classified as a mental illness. It was believed to be connected to repressed female sexuality and psychic injuries women suffered as children. Freudians read erotic signals in stolen gloves, purses and handkerchiefs.

Now that psychopharmacology has replaced psychoanalysis as the therapy du jour, researchers have tried to locate the origin of the urge to steal in order to chemically quiet it. Kleptomania is grouped with other compulsive disorders like gambling, drinking and sex addiction. So far, only Naltrexone, best known for helping alcoholics stop drinking, has been found to be significantly helpful in reducing the urge to shoplift.

But despite high-tech treatments and many studies on shoplifting- including one released this month by the Retail Industry Leaders Association, showing a recent big jump in shoplifting most researchers have failed to explore the question of who is doing the lifting, and why.