Customer Reviews

Impulse Control Disorders (Psychological Disorders)

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The purpose of this review of Christine Adamec's "Impulse Control Disorders" is to present an outline to potential readers so readers can gain enough knowledge to determine whether to invest their time and money into purchasing and reading the book. The aim of the book is to allow readers with little or no knowledge of impulse control disorders to gain information on the topic to help recognize symptoms and the biological and psychological process behind them. The book presented the signs/symptoms, causes, risks and characteristics of people with specific impulse control disorders. The author splits the book into five disorder examples and then gives broad ideas of psychological problems that could occur and treatments available.

"Pathological Gambling"
This section emphasizes the fact that loosing thousands of dollars will not cause the gamble to stop gambling as they thing the second time is the charm, and then the third, fourth and so on. Those that are hooked on gambling love to feel the rush of the game. The author states an interesting fact that males are four times more likely to be a pathological gambler than females and provides studies to explain. The studies presented found that the gender of the gambler has an effect on their psychological outcome, whether it is depression, alcoholism or violent behavior. As a student in a neuroscience class, I was very interested in the part of the brain known to cause this behavior. Damage of the frontal lobe has been thought as the cause of impulse control disorders and could result in the inability to stop the behavior. The author goes on the give some examples of excuses gamblers use to justify their behavior including saying phrases like "You only live once and you might as well enjoy it! Gambling makes me happy" (17).

"Intermittent Explosive Disorder"
This disorder involves "out-of-control rage" in which the rage builds up in a person's body causing them to `explode' in a violent manner in only a matter of a few minutes. Many times the rage build up starts over what may seem minimal to a `normal person.' This part does a good job of highlighting studies on the effect of this disorder on road rage and signs including physical violence and property damage.

"Pyromania"
This component discusses the fascination some people have with fires and burning and their compulsion to start fires without harming anyone. Pyromaniacs say they have a feeling of tension that is immediately released by setting the fire. The author makes the extinction between pyromaniacs and arsonists, those who do want to cause harm. I was intrigued by the incorporated study that highlighted that "the strongest associations with being a fire setter involved the triple combination of moderate-to-high shyness, aggressiveness, and peer rejection" (32). Adamec excellently explains the theories associated with the causes of pyromania ranging from opportunity theory (child has easy access to fire) to social acceptance theory (fire will help child gain peer acceptance).

"Trichotillomania"
This is a behavior of hair pulling that can lead to depression or anxiety. The author cover s the way people pull out hair, the length of time spent pulling, and when/where it takes place. She goes on to describe the two types of hair pulling, focus and nonfocused. Trichotillomania can lead to medical effects, lack of physical activity and career problems. Conditions and syndromes resulting from this disorder are later mentioned. The only problem I had with this section of the book was the lack of explanation of the biological aspect of why trichotillomania occurs.

"Kleptomania"
This is an impulse control disorder characterized by the urge to steal. Surprising to me, this is the first disorder mentioned that effects females more than males. Adamec mentions research on the triggers and the ways people try to resist stealing. I loved the discussion on the influence of serotonin and antidepressant medications on kleptomania and on other impulse control disorders. The explanation of both the biological and psychological theories behind this disorder was helpful in understanding the causes of kleptomania. The inclusion of a table at the end of the section helps the reader visualize the differences between `regular thieves' and kleptomaniacs.

After detailed descriptions of some of the impulse control disorders, Adamec delves into the link between these disorders and other behavioral disorders, like depression, bipolar tendencies and anxiety. She also makes a connection between substance abuse and the disorders explained earlier.

As a final note, Adamec emphasizes the need for treatment of these disorders. She introduces types of therapy to change ways of thinking from "I must do this" to "I don't have to do this" (65). This book provides great detail on therapy and medication to stop the disorder. I really appreciated the inclusion of future studies as a closer to the book. Adamec highlights what researchers are doing for the future to further help impulse control disorder patients.

I believe that this book is an appealing, well written explanation of the symptoms, risks and biological theories behind the life altering impulse control disorders. Adamec supports her statements with many studies that aids in the understanding of these psychological and neurological disorders. Not only can readers learn about the disorders mentioned above, but they can also relate it to well known disorders like ADHD, which Adamec speaks of under the treatment section. This shows that writing about these disorders can help people recognize problems met in everyday life and receive the proper help and treatment.

Overall, I would recommend this book for those looking for a brief introduction on impulse control disorders. If the potential reader is attempting to gain in depth knowledge of a specific impulse control disorder, he should not choose this book. This book does explain some of the well known disorders and does a good job at touching on the basic information of each. A benefit of this book is the layout. The style, with the inclusion of pictures and tables, encourages the reader to keep reading and keeps the reader drawn to the book. Adamec uses stories of people with the respective disorder at the beginning of each section which is, in my opinion, a great way to hook the reader from the onset. The structure of the book is similar to a textbook, but much better structured as it was interesting and flowed well. What I much liked was a person not an expert in psychological issues can well understand the topics introduced in this book and after reading, can discuss basic terminologies with others.