De Clérambault's syndrome (erotomania) in an evolutionary perspective

Abstract

De Clérambault's syndrome (erotomania), the delusion of being loved by another person, is characterized by consistent sex differences in prevalence rates, sociodemographic data, and behavior directed towards the perceived ‘love object’. The aim of the present review of 246 worldwide cases (published 1900–2000) is to evaluate the behavioral characteristics of erotomania according to the ‘Sexual Strategies Theory’ (SST) proposed by Buss and Schmitt [Psychol. Rev. 100 (1993) 204.]. Consistent with the SSTheory of sex-specific sexual psychology, erotomania may be best understood as a pathological variant of a long-term mating strategy. The content of delusional disorders, as exemplified here by erotomania, may be interpreted from an evolutionary perspective, which may influence (future) psychiatric nosology.