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Results for “Firesetting Behavior”

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PubMed1987

Fire fetishism, diagnostic and clinical implications: a review of two cases.

From the 19th century and early writings on the subject, psychosexual factors have been reported to play a role in pyromania. After a brief review of the literature on firesetting and pyromania, two cases of arsonists are presented in which fire appears to be part of a fetish. Full sexual behaviours assessments were completed, therefore providing objective findings. Both subjects were treated for the sexual deviation associated with the acts of arson and showed significant changes in their sexual functioning. This paper deals with the issues of identification and management of such conditions.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Adolescent female firesetters.

A retrospective study of the charts of 13 female adolescent firesetters revealed severe family and individual pathology. The parents had a history of separation, violence, alcohol and/or drug abuse, and inability to take care of the children. The girls had a long history of serious behavioural problems. Four girls had set one fire, six had set several fires within a period of a few days, three had a long-standing history of setting fires. The girls showed a lack of remorse or concern for their behaviours.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Delinquent firesetters: a comparative study of delinquency and firesetting histories.

Twenty-five male delinquents (aged nine to 16) who had legal charges for setting fires filed against them were compared to a group of age and sex matched delinquents who had legal charges filed against them that were not related to firesetting. Groups were compared on demographic variables and on their delinquency and fire related histories. The only significant difference to emerge was a higher proportion of past firesetting in the group with fire-related charges. The present results indicate that a subgroup of antisocial recidivist firesetters exists among young offenders and underscore the importance of obtaining a thorough fire related history from youth who are before the court on fire related charges.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Preventing Halloween arson in an urban setting: a model for multisectoral planning and community participation.

Arson is a violent crime and a public health problem that causes injuries and deaths, destroys homes, and destabilizes neighborhoods. During the late 1970s, pre-Halloween pranks in Detroit, Michigan, turned destructive when hundreds of fires were set deliberately throughout the city; in 1984, a record of 810 fires were set during the Halloween period. In 1985, a city wide anti-arson campaign that involved the mobilization and training of thousands of community volunteers was begun in Detroit. This report describes the multiple components of the anti-arson intervention from 1985 through 1996 and changes in the incidence of Halloween fires. Both the decrease in annual Halloween arson fires after the intervention began and the inverse relationship between the number of volunteers and the number of fires suggest a causal effect. This study illustrates the capacity of an urban community to mobilize its residents and stakeholders, the importance of community participation and multisectoral partnerships in program planning and implementation, and the challenges faced in retrospectively evaluating an apparently successful, complex, community-based intervention.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Looking for pyromania: characteristics of a consecutive sample of Finnish male criminals with histories of recidivist fire-setting between 1973 and 1993.

BACKGROUND: As pyromania is a rare diagnosis with questionable validity, we aimed to describe a forensic psychiatric population of arson recidivists. METHODS: The medical records as well as the forensic psychiatric examination statements of 90 arson recidivists referred for pretrial psychiatric assessment in Helsinki University Hospital Department of Forensic Psychiatry between 1973 and 1993 were reviewed. RESULTS: The most important diagnostic categories of arson recidivists were personality disorders, psychosis and mental retardation, often with comorbid alcoholism. In all, 68% of arsonists were under alcohol intoxication during the index crime. Psychotic as well as mentally retarded persons with repeated fire-setting behaviour were mostly "pure arsonists"--persons guilty only of arsons during their criminal careers. Arson recidivists with personality disorder, in contrast, often exhibited various types of criminal behaviour and arson appeared to be only one expression of a wide range of criminal activity. Comorbid alcoholism was apparently a more rarely observed phenomenon among pure arsonists than in "nonpure arsonists". We found only three subjects fulfilling the present diagnostic criteria for pyromania. CONCLUSION: Using the criteria of the DSM-IV-TR, pyromania must be regarded as an extremely rare phenomenon. Especially the question of substance intoxication as an exclusion criterion for pyromania should be reconsidered.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

An XYY man.

This case report describes a young man with a 47, XYY karyotype who was convicted of arson. He suffered from a cardiac disorder which may well have been part of the XYY syndrome rather than a chance association. His abnormal karyotype was disclosed in court and used by the defence in a plea in mitigation.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Conspicuous firesetting in children.

The records of 79 children whose firesetting led to referral to a Children's Hearing (the Scottish equivalent of a juvenile court) were examined. All but one of the children were boys. They had very disturbed backgrounds, with much family disruption and absent or unemployed fathers. Firesetting was predominantly a group activity and the damage caused was extensive. Although the children frequently engaged in other offences, in over 90 per cent there was no recurrence of reported firesetting within the limited period of possible follow-up.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

A study of firesetters in the south-west of Ireland.

A survey of 54 firesetters who had been in hospital or prison was conducted. The results confirmed earlier findings on several aspects, such as male predominance, unstable childhood and proclivity to self-injurious behaviour. Revenge emerged as the commonest motive overall and an association with alcohol was found. Only 11% of the fire-raising episodes, whether among hospital or prison groups, were truly trivial. Arsonists in prison and hospital had many features in common and generally were quite psychologically disturbed, which contrasted with those who set fires for profit. A poor outcome was found, with continuing self-harm and a high suicide rate. Our findings suggest that arson recidivism arises in at least 35% of arsonists.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Epilepsy and arson.

A man temporarily developed an organic personality change, psychosis and epilepsy after a frontal lobe operation for a subarachnoid haemorrhage. While affected, he set fire to his house. The arson is thought to have been a direct result of a seizure. The case and its legal management are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Firesetting in an adolescent boy with Asperger's syndrome.

Firesetting in children and adolescents is commonly associated with other antisocial acts that comprise conduct disorders. Asperger's syndrome is a rare pervasive developmental disorder. In the case presented we argue that the firesetting arose from the disabilities inherent in Asperger's syndrome. This also indicates that antisocial acts may be symptoms in other psychiatric syndromes as well as a specific conduct disorder.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Ganser syndrome followed by major depressive episode.

A case of complete Ganser syndrome resolved after one week, but was immediately followed by a major depressive episode. The two disorders had a common cause, which is best encapsulated in a psychodynamic formulation.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Profile of female firesetters. Implications for treatment.

We studied 28 female arsonists and 28 female controls admitted to Holloway Prison over four months to examine the psychological and situational antecedents to firesetting so that the behaviour could be targeted for treatment. Over 92% of the arson group had received a psychiatric diagnosis. Both groups had similarly high rates of early deprivation and abuse. None of the female arsonists had set a fire for financial gain. There was no evidence of sexual arousal being associated with firesetting; only two women described their firesetting in terms that suggest a level of compulsion--one of these was alcoholic, the other was diagnosed as severely personality disordered. Several behavioural and psychological antecedents to offending were identified which could be targeted for treatment: low self-esteem, depression, limited communication skills, and deficits in anger management. The relapse prevention model is suggested as a possible intervention for recidivistic arsonists.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Characteristics of fire-setters. A study and proposed multiaxial psychiatric classification.

BACKGROUND: The study set out to review the relationship between mental disorder and fire-setting. METHOD: Sociodemographic, psychiatric, and medical data were retrospectively obtained from case notes of a group of 36 fire-setters referred to the North West Thames Forensic Psychiatry Service over a four-year period. RESULTS: Of the sample, 28% were female and one-third had no mental illness; 28% had a previous medical history of possible relevance. Psychoactive substance abuse was common. There was a significant disturbance of interpersonal relationships. Eighty-five per cent lived alone, and 44% of the female fire-setters had a history of sexual abuse. CONCLUSION: On the basis of this study, a multiaxial classification system of fire-setting is proposed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Serious criminal offending and mental disorder. Case linkage study.

BACKGROUND: A relationship exists between mental disorder and offending behaviours but the nature and extent of the association remains in doubt. METHOD: Those convicted in the higher courts of Victoria between 1993 and 1995 had their psychiatric history explored by case linkage to a register listing virtually all contacts with the public psychiatric services. RESULTS: Prior psychiatric contact was found in 25% of offenders, but the personality disorder and substance misuse accounted for much of this relationship. Schizophrenia and affective disorders were also over-represented, particularly those with coexisting substance misuse. CONCLUSIONS: The increased offending in schizophrenia and affective illness is modest and may often be mediated by coexisting substance misuse. The risk of a serious crime being committed by someone with a major mental illness is small and does not justify subjecting them, as a group, to either increased institutional containment or greater coercion.

Age Distribution↗