mentally disordered firesetters - university of kent · cases of pyromania that meet all of the...

Mentally Disordered Firesetters

Running Head: MENTALLY DISORDERED FIRESETTERS

Explanations of Firesetting in Mentally Disordered Offenders: A Review of the Literature.

Nichola Tyler*

&

Theresa A. Gannon^

University of Kent, UK

* Nichola Tyler is a PhD Candidate in Forensic Psychology at the University of Kent, UK. ^ Theresa A. Gannon is a Chartered Forensic Psychologist and Reader at the University of Kent, UK. Address all manuscript correspondence to Nichola Tyler, School of Psychology, Keynes College, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NP.

Mentally Disordered Firesetters 1

Abstract

This paper reviews current explanations of firesetting in adult mentally disordered offenders. In

particular attention is given to contemporary research that has examined the developmental and

background characteristics, personality and associated traits, motivation for firesetting,

neurobiological explanations, psychiatric diagnoses and frequency of self injurious behaviour;

including suicide. In addition to this, the likelihood of recidivism and associated risk factors are

considered. Evaluation of the existing research has highlighted that even though a significant

proportion of the existing research has been conducted with psychiatric populations little is

understood about firesetting by mentally disordered offenders. In addition to this, little research

has been conducted which compares mentally disordered firesetters to other mentally disordered

offenders and non-mentally disordered offenders. Recommendations are made for future

research in this area to help develop knowledge of this behaviour further.

Key Words: Firesetting, Arson, Mentally Disordered Offenders, Self Incineration.


Explanations of Firesetting in Mentally Disordered Offenders

Deliberate firesetting is a huge problem worldwide. Recent statistics show that in the UK

alone in 2008 there were 53,000 deliberately set fires and there were 451 fire-related deaths

(Department for Communities and Local Government, 2010) with estimated costs to the total

economy in 2004 being £2.53 billion (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, 2006). Similarly high

figures have also been reported for both Australia (Bryant, 2008) and the US, where the cost to

the economy in direct property damage alone in 2007 was $1.3 billion (Hall, 2010). Of the 1407

adults who were brought before the courts in England and Wales in 2009 for arson offences, 42

received hospital orders and limitation directions (Ministry of Justice, 2011). It has been

suggested that firesetting is highly prevalent amongst the mentally disordered offender

population (Swaffer, Haggett & Oxley, 2001) and research has generally reflected this assertion.

For example, Geller and Bertsch (1985) report that in a sample of 191 state hospital inpatients,

26% had set a fire. Furthermore, Ritchie and Huff (1999) concluded that 90% of arsonists had

histories of mental health issues. To date there have been only two reviews that have focused

specifically on firesetting in mentally disordered offenders (Geller, 1992a; Smith & Short, 1995).

However, these reviews were conducted over a decade ago and fail to explore the psychological

variables of firesetting in mentally disordered offenders that are necessary to guide assessment

and treatment. Thus, there is an inherent need for a literature review on firesetting in mentally

disordered offenders. Given that firesetting is such a huge societal problem, both economically

and physically, it is surprising that understanding of this behaviour from both psychiatric and

psychological perspectives is relatively poor and the literature impoverished.

This paper does not intend to provide an exhaustive review of the literature on firesetting

in mentally disordered offenders. However, it does aim to provide a contemporary overview of

the various explanations that have been formulated in an attempt to explain acts of firesetting in

this population. This paper also aims to provide professionals who may be working with


mentally disordered firesetters with a comprehensive understanding of mentally disordered

firesetters paying particular attention to developmental and background features, offence

histories, personality and associated features, psychiatric disorders, and motives. In addition to

this, factors that have been found to be predictive of recidivism in mentally disordered firesetters

will be explored. Therefore, this review will evaluate research that has employed samples of

mentally disordered offenders or firesetters who have been referred for psychiatric evaluation.

Unless otherwise stated, this review will focus on firesetting committed by mentally disordered

offenders who are over the age of 18. In addition to this, because the majority of mentally

disordered firesetters are male (Smith & Short, 1995) this review will focus on male mentally

disordered firesetters only (readers interested in female firesetters should consult Gannon, 2010).

An extensive search of the firesetting literature was conducted (limited to the English language)

using both electronic databases (e.g. PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, Web of Science and PubMed) and

reference lists from empirical articles, which returned 69 articles, book chapters and

commentaries in English that had either employed samples of adult male mentally disordered

firesetters or had discussed firesetting in relation to this population. All of these articles are

discussed and evaluated in this review.

The Association between Firesetting and Mental Illness

Research suggests that although mental health problems appear to be one factor relating

to a risk of firesetting, the majority of apprehended firesetters are not deemed to be mentally ill.

There has long been an association between mental illness and firesetting. Early German writers

theorised that firesetting was generally committed by pubescent mentally disordered girls who

lived in rural areas, exhibited abnormal psychosexual development, and menstrual difficulties

(Henke, 1812; Platner, 1797, as cited in Inciardi, 1970). The impulse to set fires was attributed in


these young girls to disturbed or irregular psycho-sexual development and reproductive mental

problems around and during puberty (Henke, 1812; Platner, 1797, as cited in Inciardi, 1970). In

the 1800’s writers began to develop the first discussions in English with regard to the connection

between mental illness and pathological firesetting (Prichard, 1833; Ray, 1844 as cited in Geller,

McDermeit & Brown, 1997). Since this point in history the connection between poor mental

health and firesetting has consistently been made. This is demonstrated by the inclusion of

pyromania as an impulse control disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental

Health Disorders (DSM-IV-TR, American Psychiatric Association; APA, 2000). However, true

cases of pyromania that meet all of the diagnostic requirements are very rarely found in

firesetting populations (Lindberg, Holi, Tani & Virkkunen, 2005). In addition to this, the

psychiatric firesetting literature has substantially contributed to the widely held belief that

firesetters are generally a dangerous group of offenders with a poor prognosis (Rice & Harris,

1996); a perspective that appears to be still widespread today. This is reflected by the way in

which research has categorised arson and homicide similarly in respect to the increase in risk of

offending that the presence of a mental illness confers (Anwar, Langstrom, Grann, & Fazel,

2009). Recent research has also reported that psychiatric disorders such as antisocial personality

disorder are 12 times more likely to be prevalent in firesetters compared to those individuals who

do not set fires (Vaughan, Qiang, DeLisi, Wright, Perron, & Howard, 2010). In addition to this,

14% of patients who were admitted to psychiatric hospitals in England and Wales in 2008 had

committed arson offences (Ministry of Justice, 2010). Consequently, it has been assumed that

firesetting is often a symptom of poor mental health (Geller, 1987). This is reflected by Justice

Boreham’s commentary in the case of R v Calladine [1975] where he recommended that

psychiatric reports were obtained for everyone brought before the courts for arson, prior to

sentencing. Other findings, however, suggest that firesetting and poor mental health are not

inextricably entwined. For example, only approximately 2% of arsonists receive hospital orders


from the courts each year and of those arrested for the crime of arson, approximately 10% are

considered to be mentally ill (Barker, 1994). These statistics do not suggest that there is a strong

connection between arson and psychiatric illness. However, 62% of all psychiatric hospital

transfers in England and Wales in 2008 came from prisons (Ministry of Justice, 2010); such

transfers would not be counted in any court referral figures suggesting that there may be many

offenders convicted of arson in the prison system who are mentally ill who may not be

accounted for. Further, Geller (1987) suggests that firesetting is, in fact, a symptom found in

many Axis I disorders which may explain some of the seeming overrepresentation of firesetting

behaviours in psychiatric populations.

Ritchie and Huff (1999) found from an examination of the mental health records and/or

prison files of 283 arsonists (234 male and 49 female), that 25% (n =71) had experienced some

sort of psychiatric symptoms in the days leading up to the offence. The most prevalent

symptoms included delusions (35.2%), psychosis (33.8%), paranoia (29.6%), depression (25.4%),

and suicidality (11.3%). The presence of a mental illness has also consistently been reported in

the literature as a risk factor for repeat firesetting (Barnett, Richter, Sigmund & Spitzer, 1997;

Dickens, Sugarman, Edgar, Hofberg, Tewari, & Ahmad, 2009; Lindberg et al., 2005; O’Sullivan

& Kelleher, 1987). Clearly, more definitive research is required in order to explore the exact links

between mental health and firesetting. The combination of research outlined above, however,

suggests that although mental health problems appear to be one factor relating to a risk of

firesetting, the majority of apprehended firesetters are not deemed to be mentally ill.

Background and Characteristics of Mentally Disordered Firesetters

Socio-Demographic Characteristics


Compared to other mentally disordered offenders, firesetters have been found to be

younger, less intelligent (Rice & Harris, 2008) and more likely to exhibit low IQ and/or

intellectual disability (Räsänen, Hirvenoja, Hakko & Väisänen, 1994; Rice & Harris, 1991).

However, compared to non-mentally disordered firesetters mentally disordered firesetters appear

to be older (Barker, 1994; Barnett et al., 1997; Smith & Short, 1995). It has been suggested that

this difference in age is due to the fact that psychiatric illnesses (e.g., schizophrenia and

personality disorders) have a propensity to onset in early adulthood (Smith & Short, 1995). For

example, the average age of onset for schizophrenia is 26.2 years (Faraone, Chen, Goldstein &

Tsuang, 1994) and both antisocial and borderline personality disorder is most prevalent amongst

those aged 20-29 (Grant et al., 2008). This suggests that firesetting may coincide with the onset

of these psychiatric disorders in these individuals. Despite these differences, the preponderance

of male firesetters admitted for psychiatric evaluation have been found to be similar to both

property and violent offenders on factors such as low socio-economic status (Rice & Harris,

1991, Ritchie & Huff, 1999), poor levels of educational attainment (Harris & Rice, 1984;

Räsänen, Puumalainen, Janhonen, & Väisänen,1996), and being either unemployed or engaged in

unskilled employment (McKerracher & Dacre, 1966; Ritchie & Huff, 1999).

[Insert Table 1 about here]

Background/Developmental Characteristics

Mentally disordered firesetters, like most offenders, have been found to come from

deprived backgrounds and have experienced disruptive childhoods (Yesavage, Benezechim,

Ceccaldi, Bourgeois, & Addad, 1983) and maltreatment, including sexual and physical abuse (Hill

et al., 1982; Jayaraman & Frazer, 2006). In particular, mentally disordered firesetters have been

found to come from large families, having an average of 4.4 siblings (Bradford, 1982), and the


father is often found to be absent or when present aloof, distant, and hostile (Boling & Brotman,

1973; Hill, Langevin, Paitich, Handy, Russon & Wilkinson, 1982; Regehr & Glancy, 1991). When

there is physical abuse the perpetrator is often found to be the father (Hill et al., 1982). Parental

alcoholism has also consistently been identified in the backgrounds of mentally disordered

fresetters (Repo & Virkunnen, 1997a).

Fineman (1995) hypothesizes that maltreatment and adverse childhood events may

precipitate firesetting in some juvenile offenders where it is used as a tool to draw attention to

their situation and distress. Root, MacKay, Henderson, Del Bove and Warling (2008)

investigated the link between juvenile firesetting and childhood maltreatment further and found

that the link is mediated by behavioural and emotional difficulties. However, no research has

examined whether this link continues into adulthood.

In addition to adverse events in childhood, Koson and Dvoskin (1982) found that 77%

of their sample of 26 firesetters referred by the courts to a maximum security hospital for pre-

trial examination had a history of previous admissions to a psychiatric hospital or previous

engagement with mental health services. Similar rates have been reported by other researchers

(Geller, Fisher & Moynihan, 1992; Leong, 1992; Ritchie & Huff, 1999).

Several studies have reported that mentally disordered firesetters have low levels of

educational achievement (Koson & Dvoskin, 1982; Labree, Nijman, Van Marle, & Rassin, 2010;

Rice & Harris, 1991) with the average number of school grades being completed reported as

being approximately 8.57 (Rice & Harris, 1991). In addition to this, many mentally disordered

firesetters do not complete their high school education which may, in part, explain the fact that

they are often either unemployed or in unskilled employment (Rice & Harris, 1991; Räsänen,

Hakko & Väisänen., 1995a; Ritchie & Huff, 1999).


Research into the offence histories of firesetters has found that mentally disordered

firesetters are more likely than non-mentally disordered firesetters to have previous convictions

for firesetting (Koson & Dvoskin, 1982; Jayaraman & Frazer, 2006) and are more likely to have

previous convictions for non-violent than violent offences (Hill et al., 1982; Rix, 1994). Rice and

Harris (2008) also report that mentally disordered firesetters frequently set fires as children.

However, in contrast to this Geller, Fisher and Bertsch (1992) found that there was no difference

in the number of future firesetting episodes between those mentally disordered offenders who

had a prior history of firesetting and those that did not. Further, O’Sullivan and Kelleher (1987)

found that firesetters who were detained in hospital were significantly less likely to have engaged

in other previous antisocial behaviour compared to firesetters in prison. This suggests that

firesetting may be part of a spectrum of antisocial behaviour that is potentially engaged in by

non-mentally disordered offenders and that firesetting may hold some other meaning for

mentally disordered offenders.

Interestingly, in line with this, research has suggested that mentally disordered firesetters

are more similar to property offenders than violent offenders (Hill et al., 1982; Jackson et al.,

1987). Hill et al. (1982) found that their sample of 38 arsonists referred for psychiatric

assessment were more similar to property offenders in terms of personality, psychiatric

diagnosis, substance abuse history, and offence histories compared to assault offenders. Another

explanation for why mentally disordered firesetters may appear to be more similar to property

offenders has been suggested to be their choice of using fire as a tool for interpersonal

communication. McKerracher and Dacre (1966) suggested that arsonists may transfer feelings of

hostility away from ‘person’ targets to ‘property targets’ – consistent with the displaced

aggression hypothesis (Marcus-Newhall, Pederson, Carlson, & Miller, 2000). Some evidence for

the application of the displaced aggression hypothesis in firesetters can be found in the literature.

For example, Jackson et al. (1987) found that mentally disordered firesetters demonstrated lower


levels of interpersonal aggression than violent offenders even though revenge and jealousy were

categorised as the underlying motive for firesetting in 47.2% of their sample.

Personality and Other Associated Traits

It is not surprising that mentally disordered firesetters have deficits in their personal and

social lives, due to the difficult upbringings they have had. Räsänen, Puumalainen, Janhonen and

Väisänen (1996) analysed the written offence narratives of 40 arsonists (36 men and 4 women),

who were admitted to a psychiatric hospital for pre-trial psychiatric examination. Qualitative

analysis of the scripts highlighted firesetters’ self destructive personalities which were

characterised by difficulties sustaining relationships, an absence of social support, and aroused

suicidal thoughts. Räsänen et al. (1996) also found that arsonists’ texts illustrated that they did

not value themselves, mistrusted themselves, had difficulties in expressing emotions, and were

often extremely dependent on others. In addition to this, the firesetters considered themselves

inconsistent and unbalanced individuals stating that they frequently suffered from mood swings,

anxiety, and loss of control. Räsänen et al. (1996) suggested that this may be reflective of low self

esteem in these individuals.

Other studies have found that adult firesetters may have unsatisfying sex lives, dating

problems with women, distant relationships with parents, friends, and siblings, disappointing

marriages, impotence, and hold insecure sexual identities (Räsänen et al., 1996; Rice & Harris,

1991; Ritchie & Huff, 1999). These findings highlight that mentally disordered firesetters

consistently appear to lack dependable human relationships with others both in childhood and as

an adult which may be reflective of, or causally associated with their deficient social skills and

low self esteem.


Neuropsychological and Biological Explanations

There has been some research suggesting that there may be a connection between some

neuropsychological and biological disorders and firesetting in both mentally disordered and non-

mentally disordered offenders (Carpenter & King, 1989; Eytan et al., 2002; Nielsen, 1970;

Virkkunen et al., 1987). Several case studies conducted on mentally disordered pathological

firesetters have all suggested that metabolic or neurotransmitter abnormality (Virkkunen et al.,

1987) may be related to firesetting. In particular, significantly lower levels of cerebrospinal fluid

monamine metabolite levels have been found in individuals with impulse control disorders (e.g.

pyromania and kleptomania), specifically 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycal (MHPG) and 5-

HIAA (Virkkunen et al., 1987, Virkkunen, DeJong, Bartko & Linnoila, 1989b, Virkkunen et al.,

1994). However, these conditions may not necessarily be related to firesetting behaviour but

rather impulse control disorders more generally.

Several neuropsychological conditions have also been associated with firesetting in

mentally disordered offenders. Puri, Baxter and Cordess (1995) found that 28% of their sample

of 36 firesetters who were referred to a Forensic Psychiatry Service (26 men and 10 women) had

a history of brain injury which they considered may be accountable for their firesetting

behaviour. Kishimoto and colleagues (1995) also reported a case of a man who had a hemisphere

lesion, which had induced personality change and dementia, who had been arrested for impulsive

incendiarism. Further, Bradford (1982) found in his sample of 34 arsonists (26 males and 8

females) referred for psychiatric assessment, that 20.5% (n = 7) had abnormal

electroencephalogram readings (EEG) compared to only 10% (n = 5) of the control group of

offenders who had been charged for crimes other than arson. The majority of this sample had a

primary diagnosis of personality disorder (52.9%), depression (17.6%) or transient situational


disturbance (11.7%). Similar findings were uncovered by Hill et al. (1982) who found in his

sample of 92—largely personality disordered—psychiatric inpatients (38 arsonists, 30 property

offenders, 24 violence against the person) that 18.42% of arsonists had abnormal EEG readings

compared to only 3.33% of property offenders and 8.33% of assaultive offenders. Unfortunately,

however, these findings were not investigated further.

Similarly to mentally disordered firesetters, neurobiological disorders have also been

found in non-mentally disordered firesetters. For example, case studies with non-mentally

disordered juvenile and adult firesetters have found both frontal lobe dysfunction (Calev, 1995;

Friedman & Clayton, 1996; Bosshart & Capek, in press) and posterior abnormalities (Meinhard,

Oozeer and Cameron, 1988).

The majority of research that has investigated neurobiological and psychobiological

disorders in mentally disordered firesetters consists of individual case studies or very small

samples (Carpenter & King, 1989; Eytan et al., 2002; Kishimoto et al., 1995; Virkkunen et al.,

1987) so there is no strong evidence—at present—suggesting that any of these conditions

actually predispose sufferers to firesetting.

Psychosis and Psychiatric Diagnosis

There has been a substantial amount of research that has examined the frequency and

types of psychiatric disorders in firesetters (Anwar, et al., 2009; Enayati, Grann, Lubbe & Fazel,

2008; Geller, 1992a; Rice & Harris, 1991) and the literature has mixed findings. Several

psychiatric disorders have consistently been found to be present in firesetters including

depression (O’Sullivan & Kelleher, 1987), schizophrenia (Anwar et al, 2009), mania (Geller,

1987), borderline and antisocial personality disorder (Dolan et al., 2002; Geller, 1987; Geller


1992a; Lindberg et al., 2005), developmental disorders (Bradford, 1982), bipolar disorder (Grant

& Kim, 2007) and other psychotic disorders (Koson & Dvoskin, 1982).

The majority of studies conducted with psychiatric in-patients have found that

schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder are the most common diagnoses in mentally

disordered firesetters (Barnett & Spitzer, 1994; Geller, 1992a). In particular, higher than normal

levels of schizophrenia have consistently been found among firesetting patients, however,

reported rates range widely from 8% - 30% (Ritchie & Huff, 1999). Anwar et al. (2009) found

8.1% prevalence of psychotic disorders in arsonists compared with 0.7% in non-offender control

subjects. Many studies of mentally disordered firesetters, especially case studies, highlight that

mentally disordered firesetters who suffer from schizophrenia usually set fires under the

influence of their psychiatric symptoms (Barnett & Spitzer, 1994; Geller, 1987; Koson &

Dvoskin, 1982). Personality disorders have also been found to be highly prevalent amongst

mentally disordered firesetters (Geller, 1992a), more so than schizophrenia, with reported rates

ranging from 25% (Bradford & Dimock, 1986) to 90% (Virkkunen et al., 1989a). Similarly, in

studies of firesetting prevalence in the general population, the strongest associations with

firesetting were disorders associated with deficits in impulse control such as antisocial personality

disorder, drug dependence, and bipolar disorder (Blanco, Alegría, Petry, Grant, Simpson, Liu,

Grant & Hasin, 2010; Vaughan et al., 2010).

Substance abuse disorders — in particular alcoholism — have been found to be highly

prevalent amongst mentally disordered firesetters (Grant & Kim, 2007; Labree et al., 2010;

Ritchie & Huff, 1999). Substance abuse has been found to be one of the most common Axis I

diagnoses for mentally disordered offenders (Enayati et al., 2008). Dickens et al. (2007) identified

that 62.8% (n = 81) of their sample of male mentally disordered arsonists had an alcohol

problem. Further, Lindberg et al. (2005) reported that 68% (n = 61) of their sample of mentally

disordered arsonists were under the influence of alcohol at the time of setting the fire. Repo and


Virkunnen (1997a) and Lindberg et al. (2005) also noted that schizophrenia, personality

disorders, psychosis, and learning disabilities were often comorbid with alcoholism. In particular

Repo and Virkunnen (1997a) found that alcohol dependence was more prevalent in firesetters

with a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Crime Scene Characteristics

In other areas of offending crime scene characteristics have been identified for serial

offenders such as distance travelled to commit the offence, specific ‘signature behaviour’ and

targets of offending. There is no research that has focused specifically on the crime scene

characteristics of firesetting behaviour in mentally disordered offenders. However, research that

has paid some attention to this area has made several observations about the behaviour of serial

firesetters who have a mental illness. For example, firesetters have been found to generally set

fires close to their place of residence (Fritzon, 2001). However, the presence of psychosis or

depression has been found to increase the distance travelled by the firesetter from their home to

the offence location, with the average distance travelled for those with psychosis as 1.40km and

.40km for those with depression (Fritzon, 2001). Further it has been noted in the literature that

firesetters experiencing psychosis generally tend to set fire to their own flat (Rix, 1994).

The targets of mentally disordered offenders firesetting have been found to be mainly

domestic settings including their own dwellings, the houses of spouses, ex-partners, relatives, and

acquaintances (Ritchie & Huff, 1999; Rix, 1994). Canter and Fritzon (1998) found that those

firesetters with some kind of psychiatric disorder either set fires in hospitals or public building

and their fires were generally emotionally motivated (e.g. a cry for help). In addition to this,

Virkkunen (1974) found that arsonists suffering from schizophrenia were commonly reported to

set fire to uninhabited buildings.


Up to 71% of mentally disordered firesetters have been found to use some form of

accelerant for setting their fires (Ritchie & Huff, 1999) suggesting an element of planning in their

firesetting. Grant and Kim (2007) found that 66.7% of their sample of 16 pyromaniacs planned

and bought utensils to set the fire. Interestingly, O’Sullivan and Kelleher (1987) also found that

firesetters in hospital were more likely to endanger themselves and others with their firesetting

than firesetters in prison.

Motives

Research exploring the motivations of firesetters has proved extremely popular. Mentally

disordered offenders, like non-mentally disordered offenders, have been found to have multiple

motives for setting fires which differ across individual firesetters (Koson & Dvoskin, 1982).

Motives that have frequently appeared in the literature on mentally disordered firesetters include

excitement (Bradford, 1982; Rix, 1994), attention seeking/cry for help (Geller, 1992a), revenge (Koson &

Dvoskin, 1982; O’Sullivan & Kelleher, 1987; Prins, 1994; Rix, 1994), suicide attempt (Dickens et

al., 2007; Rix, 1994; O’Sullivan & Kelleher, 1987), communicative arson (Geller, 1992b; Geller,

1984), and vandalism (Rix, 1994). Interestingly, mental disorder itself has also sometimes been

considered a motive for firesetting (Prins, 1994). The most common of all documented motives

in mentally disordered firesetters, however, similarly to non-mentally disordered firesetters,

appears to be revenge (Smith and Short, 1995). Revenge has been found as a motive in

approximately one third of mentally disordered firesetters (Ritchie & Huff, 1999; Rix, 1994). The

targets of mentally disordered firesetters who are motivated by revenge are usually the individual

themselves whom the firesetter is angry with, property associated with that individual, or targets

at the broad societal or organisational level (Regehr & Glancy, 1991; Ritchie & Huff, 1999; Rix,

1994).


Although the majority of motives for mentally disordered offenders’ firesetting are

similar to those found in non-mentally disordered firesetters, there are some motives that appear

to be unique to mentally disordered offenders. For example, ‘communicative arson’ (Geller, 1992b;

1992c) is specifically associated with deinstitutionalisation and a patient expressing their desire

for a change in the type institution in which they are detained, a change in the location of the

services provided, or their desire to come back to hospital. Geller (1992b) suggests that

communicative arson is a good channel of expression for mentally disordered offenders as it is not

confrontational and allows them to reduce tension and provoke change when they are unhappy

with a situation. In contrast to this, firesetting which is motivated by vandalism appears to be

more common amongst non-mentally disordered firesetters (Rix, 1994).

Interestingly, O’Sullivan & Kelleher (1987) divided their sample of 54 firesetters by

diagnostic category and found that of those who had depression, learning disability, personality

disorder, and alcohol dependence approximately 50% were motivated by revenge. However, only

2 firesetters with psychosis were motivated by revenge. Further, over half of those in the

psychotic diagnostic category were motivated by delusions and a further 8 by suicide attempts.

Virkkunen (1974) also found that 30% of arsonists suffering from schizophrenia were principally

motivated by hallucinations/delusions.

The study of the motives of mentally disordered firesetters is fairly complex as generally

more than one motive can be identified for firesetting (Rix, 1994). However, there is no research

to date that has examined in detail which motives frequently co-occur in mentally disordered

firesetters.

Suicide, Self Harm, and Self Incineration


Mentally disordered firesetters have been found to demonstrate higher levels of suicide

attempts compared to other mentally disordered offenders (O’Sullivan & Kelleher, 1987). Repo,

Virkkunen, Rawlings and Linnoila (1997a) studied 304 male arsonists who were referred for pre-

trial psychiatric evaluation. The majority of patients in the sample were diagnosed with alcohol

dependence, intermittent explosive disorder, antisocial personality disorder, and pyromania.

Repo et al. (1997a) found that 50.9% of their sample had a history of suicide attempts and 20%

of these had made serious suicide attempts. Firesetters referred for pre-trial psychiatric

examination have also been found to have significantly higher rates of suicide attempts and

suicidal thoughts in comparison to homicide offenders (Räsänen, Hakko & Väisänen, 1995a;

1995b). In addition to this, Räsänen, Hakko and Väisänen (1995a) found that over one third of

their sample of 98 arsonists (86 male and 12 female) who had been referred for pre-trial

psychiatric examination had used firesetting as a suicide attempt. Interestingly, mentally

disordered firesetters who commit suicide also appear to be younger and more antisocial than

those who do not commit suicide (Repo & Virkkunen, 1992).

Unsurprisingly, self harm has also been found to be highly prevalent amongst mentally

disordered firesetters. Studies of psychiatric in-patients with a history of firesetting have shown

that patients with a history of firesetting are significantly more likely to have histories of non-

lethal self-injurious behaviour than other mentally disordered offenders (Geller, 1992a; Geller &

Bertsch, 1985). Repo and colleagues (1997a) found that 16% of their sample of 304 male

arsonists referred for pre-trial psychiatric assessment had slashed themselves. Interestingly

O’Sullivan and Kelleher (1987) found that non-mentally disordered arsonists engaged in more

self mutilation than mentally disordered firesetters although a history of parasuicide was more

prevalent for firesetters detained in hospital than those in prison.

Self incineration (harming oneself by burning or fire) is frequently associated with

psychiatric disorders in Western and Middle Eastern countries (Laloe, 2002) although it is a


relatively under researched method of self harm and suicide. Pham, King, Palmieri and

Greenhalgh (2003) found that 91% of 1008 patients, admitted to University of California Davis

Regional Burn Centre between 1996-2001, who had self-inflicted burns had an active psychiatric

disorder and 47% had prior suicide attempts. Palmu, Suominen, Vuola and Isometsä (2010) also

reported that 61% of their population of 107 acute burns patients (75 men and 32 women)

admitted to two university hospitals in Finland had at least one lifetime Axis I or II disorder. Of

those burn patients who had a mental disorder, 47% had substance abuse disorders, 14% had an

anxiety disorder, 10% had a psychotic disorder, 5.6% had a mood disorder, and 23.4% had an

Axis II personality disorder, with Cluster B disorders being the most prevalent (18.7%). Further,

O’Donoghue, Panchal, O’Sullivan, O’Shaughnessy, O’Connor, Keeley, and Kelleher (1998)

found that in their sample of 12 patients (7 females and 5 males) who had self-immolated by

burning, all held a current psychiatric disorder, 10 held a previous psychiatric history and 8 had

committed the current act of self-immolation by burning whilst resident on a psychiatric ward.

Where firesetting is engaged in, self harm also appears to be concurrent in many mentally

disordered offenders. This is not surprising since self harm and suicide are diagnostic symptoms

of some psychiatric disorders that have been found to be particularly prevalent amongst mentally

disordered firesetters (e.g. borderline personality disorder and depression; DSM-IV-TR,

American Psychiatric Association; APA, 2000). In addition to this, self harm and suicide has

been shown to be associated with low levels of 5-HIAA (Asberg, Traksman & Thoren, 1976;

Traskman-Bendz & Mann, 2002), a biological disorder that has also been connected with

firesetting. Self harming has also been linked to those who have poor problem solving,

impulsivity, adverse life events, and are intoxicated all which are psychological and situational

factors that have been identified in mentally disordered firesetters. In addition to this, similarly to

the ‘cry for help’ motive for firesetting common motives behind self harming have been reported

to include tension relief, the reduction of dissociative symptoms, and communication of distress


(Briere & Gill, 1998). This suggests that firesetting may act as another coping mechanism for

these individuals.

Recidivism

There is very little research currently available that has investigated recidivism and

associated risk factors in mentally disordered firesetters. However, there is a general consensus

that firesetters are in the main a dangerous group of offenders who are highly likely to repeat this

behaviour again (Sugarman & Dickens, 2009). Mentally disordered firesetters are believed to be

more likely to re-offend than non-mentally disordered firesetters (Barnett et al., 1997) and

research in this area has provided support for this assumption (Philipse, Koeter, Van der Staak &

Van den Brink, 2006). Rates of recidivism for mentally disordered firesetters have been found to

range between 4% (Barnett et al., 1997) and 43% (Geller & Bertsch, 1985). Geller (1984) found

in a sample of 14 psychiatric in-patients detained for firesetting in a state hospital, over a third

had previously set fires prior to their index offence. However, there are currently no standardised

treatment programmes provided by the mental health services to reduce recidivism and those

that do exist are very few and far between (Palmer, Caulfield & Hollin, 2007; see Russell,

Cosway, & McNicholas, 2005 or Swaffer et al., 2001 for examples).

Interestingly mentally disordered firesetters have been found to be more likely to

reoffend non-violently (e.g. property offences) or violently (including sexual offences) than to set

further fires (Philipse et al., 2006; Rice & Harris, 1996). For example, Rice and Harris (1996)

found that in their sample of 243 male firesetters admitted to a maximum security hospital, the

majority were likely to reoffend by committing a non-violent (57%) or violent offence (31%)

than setting another fire (16%). Further, violent recidivism and firesetting had a very low

intercorrelation, sharing only 3% of the variance. This suggests that the majority of mentally


disordered firesetters desist from firesetting after having set one fire and that it is only the

minority that repeat this behaviour.

However, to date, research on recidivism has been conducted retrospectively from

hospital records (e.g. number of previous recorded fires, Barnett et al., 1997; Geller & Bertsch,

1985; Lindberg et al., 2005) and longitudinal follow up studies are rare (Rice & Harris, 1996).

Where there is a follow up period these are normally relatively short. In addition to this,

recidivism has not been measured in a consistent way throughout the research so no rigorous

base rate of recidivism can be determined (Brett, 2004).

Risk Factors

In examining the dearth of recidivism research available, several variables have been

reported as differing between recidivist and non-recidivist mentally disordered firesetters that

could potentially be targeted as part of treatment. Specific risk factors that have been identified

as positively predicting recidivism in mentally disordered firesetters include never having been

married or experience of relationship problems (i.e., intimacy or communication problems;

Dicken et al., 2009; Rice & Harris, 1996), a lack of peers and socialization opportunities (Repo &

Virkkunen, 1997b), a history of childhood firesetting (i.e., perhaps due to fire interest or

antisocial personality variables such as conduct disorder; Rice & Harris, 1996), poor school

adjustment (Dickens et al., 2009), alcoholism (Koson & Dvoskin, 1982; Repo, Virkkunen,

Rawlings & Linnoila, 1997b; Repo & Virkkunen, 1997b), non compliance with psychiatric

medication (Ritchie & Huff, 1999), and the presence of a mental disorder (Barnett et al., 1997;

Dickens et al., 2009; Lindberg et al., 2005; Soothill & Pope, 1973). In particular, recidivistic

firesetters have been found to be more likely to have a personality disorder than one time

firesetters (Rice & Harris, 1991). Personality disordered firesetters have also been found to be


more likely to be criminally recidivistic than firesetters suffering from schizophrenia (Koson &

Dvoskin, 1982). Further, research has found that those mentally disordered offenders who

previously set multiple fires were more likely to set future fires than those who were psychotic or

those with little previous criminal activity (Harris & Rice, 1996).

In addition to this some factors have been found to negatively predict repeat firesetting

in mentally disordered offenders. These include no attempt to extinguish the fire, setting the fire

in a home or domestic setting (Dickens et al., 2009), high levels of aggression, setting the fire at

the weekend, and having a concurrent criminal charge (Rice & Harris, 1991). Since firesetters

have repeatedly been reported in the literature to have low levels of assertiveness and

interpersonal aggression it would make sense that the higher the person’s aggression score the

less likely they are to set future fires. However, there have been no suggestions in the literature as

to why setting fire to a domestic setting and not attempting to extinguish a fire may predict

desistance in firesetting behaviour. This makes it particularly difficult to establish convincing

hypotheses in relation to these findings.

Despite its prevalence in mentally disordered firesetters, schizophrenia has not been

found to positively predict repeat firesetting, however, amongst those mentally disordered

firesetters who have a psychiatric diagnosis of schizophrenia having a second diagnosis of

alcohol abuse has been found to positively correlate with repeat firesetting (Repo & Virkkunen,

1997a). It is interesting that the presence of a mental disorder has been identified as being a

positive predictor of repeat firesetting, as mentally disordered firesetters appear to share many of

the same characteristics as non-mentally disordered firesetters (i.e. low socio-economic status,

absent father, unemployed, poor educational attainment). It could therefore be suggested that

mental disorder is not a predictive risk factor of firesetting per se. Rather, in line with current

theoretical conceptualisations of firesetting (see Gannon, Doley, Ó Ciardha, & Alleyne, 2011),

mental health may act largely as a moderator thus increasing the likelihood of repetitive


firesetting if other predictive risk factors are present. However, to our knowledge there is no

research to date that has investigated which risk factors are the best predictors of recidivism in

mentally disordered offenders or compared these risk factors to an adequate control group.

Conclusions and Future Directions

Compared to the wealth of research on sexual and violent offending relatively little is

known about firesetting. Despite a significant proportion of the firesetting research being

conducted with mentally disordered offenders, our review highlights that there is still much to be

learnt about this behaviour. For example, we know very little about the exact aetiological link

between mental health and firesetting or of the features of mentally disordered firesetters that

distinguish them from non-mentally disordered firesetters or mentally disordered individuals

who either do not offend or who offend in other ways. Surprisingly little attention has also been

paid to the psychological variables that underpin the motives for firesetting in mentally

disordered firesetters relative to adequate comparison groups. A plethora of basic research exists

that describes the categories of motive underlying firesetting in mentally disordered offenders yet

there is very little understanding around why such individuals choose firesetting as a method of

problem solving. Future research focussing on the elucidation of psychological processes

underlying various motives for firesetting would be extremely illuminating in this respect.

Another area that appears to have been greatly neglected in the research is that of

recidivism. It is unclear at present as to what risk mentally disordered firesetters pose with regard

to repeat offending as no overall base rate of recidivism has not been formally established. It is

also unclear as to what factors may place mentally disordered firesetters at risk of reoffending

and what characteristics need to be changed or alleviated to reduce this risk. Further research is

needed regarding risk of recidivism and of the associated risk factors (1) this population may be


adequately compared to the non-mentally disordered firesetting population, and so that (2)

specific risk assessment tools and interventions can be developed for use with this population.

Specific risk factors that have been found to effectively predict recidivism have been identified in

sexual offenders (Hanson & Morton-Bourgon, 2005) and have been incorporated in treatment

programmes and risk assessment tools alike. If professionals are to develop similar interventions

for mentally disordered firesetters then research is needed that focuses on examining which

variables are most predictive of risk.

Mentally disordered firesetters appear to share many of the same characteristics as non-

mentally disordered firesetters. However, only a handful of studies have adequately compared

mentally disordered firesetters to a comparison group (Hill et al., 1982; Jackson et al., 1987;

O’Sullivan & Kelleher, 1987; Räsänen et al., 1995a, 1995b). This makes it difficult to determine

how or if mentally disordered firesetters differ significantly from non-mentally disordered

firesetters and also other mentally disordered offenders in general. Identifying any differences

between mentally disordered firesetters, non-mentally disordered firesetters and other mentally

disordered offenders will allow for a greater understanding of firesetting by this population and

assist practitioners working with such offenders in developing tailor made interventions for each

of these groups. We therefore encourage professionals to consider using such comparison

groups when conducting future research in this field to help improve our understanding of this

behaviour.


References

American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, DSM-IV-TR.

Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association.

Anwar, S., Langstrom, N., Grann, M., & Fazel, S. (2009). Is arson the crime most strongly associated

with psychosis? A national case control study of arson risk in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin,

1 - 7. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbp098

Asberg, M., Trasberg, L., & Thoren, P. (1976). 5-HIAA in the cerebrospinal fluid – a biochemical suicide

predictor? Archives of General Psychiatry, 33, 1193 – 1197.

Barker, A.F. (1994). Arson: A review of the psychiatric literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Barnett, W., & Spitzer, M. (1994). Pathological fire-setting 1951 - 1991: A review. Medicine, Science and the

Law. , 34, pp. 4 - 20.

Barnett, W., Richter, P., Sigmund, D., & Spitzer, M. (1997). Recidivism and concomitant criminality in

pathological firesetters. Journal of Forensic Science , 42, 5, 879 - 883.

Blanco, C., Alegría, A.A., Petry, N.M., Grant, J.E., Simpson, H.B., Liu, S.M., … Hasin, D.S. (2010).

Prevalence and correlates of fire-setting in the United States: results from the National

Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Journal of Clinical Psychiatry,

71, 9, 1218 – 1225.

Bosshart, H., & Capek, S. (in press). An unusual case of random fire-setting behavior associated with

lacunar stroke. Forensic Science International. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2011.03.012

Bradford, J.M.W. (1982). Arson: A clinical study. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry , 27, 3, 188 - 193.


Brett, A. (2004). 'Kindling theory' in arson: How dangerous are firesetters? Australian and New Zealand

Journal of Psychiatry , 38, 6, 419 - 425. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1614.2004.01378.x

Briere, J., & Gil, E. (1998). Self-mutilation in general and clinical population samples: prevalence,

correlates, and functions. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 68, 609 – 620.

Bryant, C. (2007). Understanding bushfires: trends in deliberate vegetation fires in Australia. Retrieved July 24th,

2010, from Technical and background paper series no. 27: Canberra Institute of Criminology:

http://ww.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/tbp/21-40/tbp027.aspx

Calev, A. (1995). Pyromania and executive/frontal dysfunction. Behavioural Neurology, 8, 163 – 167.

Carpenter, P.K., & King, A.L. (1989). Epilepsy and arson. British Journal of Psychiatry. , 154, 554 - 556.

Canter, D., & Fritzon, K. (1998). Differentiating arsonists: A model of firesetting actions and

characteristics. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 3, 73 – 96.

Davis, J.A., & Lauber, K.M. (1999). Criminal behavioural assessment of arsonists, pyromaniacs, and

multiple firesetters: The burning question. Journal of Comparative Criminal Justice , 15, 3, 273 - 290.

Department for Communities and Local Government (2010). Fire Statistics United Kingdom 2008.

Retrieved 9th May 2011, from

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/statistics/pdf/1780609.pdf

Dickens, G., Sugarman, P., Ahmad, F., Edgar, S., Hofberg, K., & Tewari, S. (2007). Gender differences

amongst adult arsonists at psychiatric assessment. Medicine, Science and the Law , 47, 233-238.

Dickens, G., Sugarman, P., Edgar, S., Hofberg, K., Tewari, S., Ahmad, F. (2009). Recidivim and

dangerousness in arsonists. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology , 20, 5, 621 - 639. doi:

10.1080/14789940903174006

http://ww.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/tbp/21-40/tbp027.aspx


Dolan, M., Millington, J., & Park, I. (2002). Personality and neuropsychological function in violent,

sexual and arson offenders. Medicine, Science and the Law , 42, 1, pp. 34 - 43.

Enayati, J., Grann, M., Lubbe, S., & Fazel, S. (2008). Psychiatric morbidity in arsonists referred for

forensic assessment in Sweden. The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology , 19, 2, 139 - 147. doi:

10.1080/14789940701789500

Eytan, A., Paoloni-Giacobino, A., Throens, G., Eugster, N., & Graf, I. (2002). Fire-setting behaviour

associated with Klinefelter syndrome. International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine , 32, 395 - 299.

doi: 10.2190/306P-N7R9-91T1-L8LJ

Faraone, S.V., Chen, W.J., Goldstein, J.M., & Tsuang, M.T. (1994). Gender differences in age of onset of

schizophrenia. British Journal of Psychiatry, 164, 625 – 629. doi: 10.1192/bjp.164.5.625

Fineman, K.R. (1995). A model for the qualitative analysis of child and fire deviant behavior. American

Journal of Forensic Psychology, 13, 1, 31 – 60.

Friedman, C.A., & Clayton, R.J. (1996). Juvenile firesetting after bilateral frontal lobe damage. Archives of

Neuropsychology, 11, 392.

Fritzon, K. (2001). An examination of the relationship between distance travelled and motivational

aspects of fire-setting behaviour. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 21, 1, 45 – 60. doi:

doi:10.1006/jevp.2000.0197

Gannon, T.A. (2010). Female arsonists: Key features, psychopathologies, and treatment. Psychiatry:

Interpersonal and Biological Processes , 73, 2, 224-238. doi: 10.1521/psyc.2010.73.2.173

Gannon, T.A., Doley, R., Ó Ciardha, C., & Alleyne, E. (2011). The multi-trajectory theory of adult

firesetting (M-TAF). Manuscript under review.

http://dx.doi.org.chain.kent.ac.uk/10.1006/jevp.2000.0197


Geller, J.L. (1984). Arson: An unforeseen sequel of deinstitutionalization. American Journal of Psychiatry,

141, 4, 504 – 508.

Geller, J.L. (1992a). Arson in review: From profit to pathology. Hospital and Community Psychiatry , 15,

623-645.

Geller, J.L. (1992). Communicative arson. Hospital and Community Psychiatry , 43, 1, 76 - 77.

Geller, J.L. (1987). Firesetting in the adult psychiatric population. Hospital and Community Psychiatry , 38, 5,

501-506.

Geller, J.L., & Bertsch, G. (1985). Fire-setting behaviour in the histories of a state hospital population.

American Journal of Psychiatry. , 142, 4, pp. 464-468.

Geller, J.L., Fisher, W.H., & Moynihan, K. (1992). Adult lifetime prevalence of firesetting behaviours in

a state hospital population. Psychiatric Quarterly, 63, 2, 129 – 142. doi: 10.1007/BF01065986

Geller, J.L., McDermeit, M., & Brown, J.M. (1997). Pyromania? What does it mean? Journal of Forensic

Science , 42, 6, 1052-1057.

Grant, B.F., Chou, S.P., Goldstein, R.B., Huang, B., Stinson, F.S., Saha, T.D., … Ruan, W.J. (2008).

Prevalence, correlates, disability, and comorbidity of DSM-IV Borderline Personality Disorder:

Results from the Wave 2 National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.

Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 69, 4, 533 – 545. Retrieved 23rd July 2011 from

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2676679/pdf/nihms101410.pdf

Grant, J.E., & Kim, S.W. (2007). Clinical characteristics and psychiatric comorbidity of pyromania.

Journal of Clinical Psychiatry , 68, 1717 - 1722.

Hall, J.R. (2010). Intentional fires. National Fire Protection Association: Fire Analysis and Research Division.

Quincy: MA.


Hanson, K.R. & Morton-Bourgon, K.E. (2005). The Characteristics of Persistent Sexual Offenders: A

Meta-Analysis of Recidivism Studies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73, 6, 1154 – 1163.

doi: 10.1037/0022-006X.73.6.1154

Harris, G.T., & Rice, M.E. (1984). Mentally disordered firesetters: Psychodynamic versus empirical

approaches. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry , 7, 19 - 34.

Hill, R.W., Langevin, R., Paitich, D., Handy, L., Russon, A., & Wilkinson, L. (1982). Is arson an

aggressive act or property offense? Canadian Journal of Psychiatry , 27, 648 - 654.

Hurley, W., & Monahan, T. M. (1969). Arson: The criminal and the crime. The British

Journal of Criminology, 9, 4-21.

Inciardi, J.A. (1970). The adult firesetter: A typology. Criminology , 8, 145-155.

Jackson, H.F (1994). Assessment of fire-setters. In M. McMurran, & J. Hodge (Eds.), The assessment of

criminal behaviours in secure settings (pp. 94-126). London: Jessica Kingsley.

Jackson, H,F., Hope, S., & Glass, C. (1987). Whay are arsonists not violent offenders? International Journal

of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology , 31, 143 - 151.

Jayaraman, A., & Frazer, J. (2006). Arson: A growing inferno. Medicine, Science and the Law , 46, 295 - 300.

Kishimoto, T., Matsumoto, H., Kawabata, Y., Sakabe, Y., Yumizaki, Y., Masuda, N.,… Nakamuro, T.

(1995). Incendiarism and localized right cerebral lesion. Journal of Nara Medical Association, 46, 142

– 147.

Koson, D.F., & Dvoskin, J. (1982). Arson: A diagnostic study. Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry

and Law , 10, 1, 39 - 49.


Labree, W., Nijman, H., Van Marle, H., & Rassin, E. (2010). Backgrounds and characteristics of

arsonists. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry , 33, 3, 149 - 153. doi: 10.1016/j.ijlp.2010.03.004

Laloe, V. (2004). Patterns of deliberate self burning in various parts of the world: A review. Burns , 30,

207 - 215. doi: 10.1016/j.burns.2003.10.018

Leong, G.B. (1992). A psychiatric study of persons charged with arson. Journal of Forensic Sciences , 1319 -

1326.

Lindberg, N., Holi, M.M., Tani, P., & Virkkunen, M. (2005). Looking for pyromania: Characteristics of a

consecutive sample of Finnish male criminals with histories of recidivist fire-setting between

1973 and 1993. BMC Psychiatry , 5, 47, 1 -5. doi: 10.1186/1471-244X-5-47

Marcus-Newhall, A., Pederson, W., Carlson, M., & Miller, N. (2000). Displaced aggression is live and

well: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 4, 670 – 689. doi:

10.1037/0022-3514.78.4.670

McKerracher, D.W., & Dacre, J.I. (1966). A study of arsonists in a special security hospital. British Journal

of Psychiatry , 112, 1151 - 1154.

Meinhard, A.E., Oozeer, R., & Cameron, D. (1988). Photosensitive epilepsy in children who set fires.

British Medical Journal, 296 (6639), 1773.

Ministry of Justice (2010). Statistics of mentally disordered offenders 2008 England and Wales. Retrieved

9th May 2011, from http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/mentally-disordered-

offenders-2008.pdf

Ministry of Justice. (2011). Number of persons proceeded against at the magistrates' courts and found

guilty and sentenced at all courts for Arson, by gender andage group, England & Wales in 2009.

London.

http://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0022-3514.78.4.670


Neilson, J. (1970). Criminality among patients with Klinefelters syndrome and the XXY syndrome.

British Journal of Psychiatry , 188, 365 - 369.

O’Donoghue, J.M., Panchal, J.L., O’Sullivan, S.T.O., Shaughessy, M.O., O’Connor, T.P.F., Keeley, H., &

Kelleher, M.J. (1998). A study of suicide and attempted suicide by self immolation in an Irish

psychiatric population: An increasing problem. Burns, 24, 2, 144 – 146. doi:10.1016/S0305-

4179(97)00096-X

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (2006). The economic costs of fire: Estimates for 2004 April. Office of the

Deputy Prime Minister: London.

O'Sullivan, G.H., & Kelleher, M.J. (1987). A study of firesetters in South-West Ireland. British Journal of

Psychiatry , 151, 818-823.

Palmer, E.J., Caulfield, L.S., & Hollin, C.R. (2007). Interventions with arsonists and young fire setters: A

survey of the national picture in England and Wales. Legal and Criminological Psychology , 12, 101 -

116. doi: 10.1348/135532505X85927

Palmu, R., Suominen, K., Vuola, J., & Isometsä, E. (2010). Mental disorders among acute burn patients.

Burns , 36, 1072 - 1079. doi: 10.1016/j.burns2010.04.004

Pham, T.N., King, J.R., Palmeiri, T.L., & Greehalgh, D.G. (2003). Pre-desposing factors for self-inflicted

burns. Journal of Burn Care and Rehabilitation , 24, 4, 223 - 227.

Philipse, M.W.G., Koeter, M.W.J., Van Der Staak, C.P. F., & Van Den Brink, W. (2006). Static and

dynamic patient characteristics as predictors of criminal recidivism: A prospective study in a

Dutch forensic psychiatric sample. Law and Human Behaviour, 30, 3, 309 – 27. doi:

10.1007/s10979-006-9013-4

Prins, H. (1994). Fire-raising: Its motivation and management. London: Routledge.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0305-4179(97)00096-X

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0305-4179(97)00096-X


Puri, B.K., Baxter, R., & Cordess, C.C. (1995). Characteristics of firesetters: A study and proposed

multiaxial psychiatric classification. British Journal of Psychiatry , 166, 3, 393 - 396.

R v Calladine [1975]. Times Law Reports.

Räsänen, P., Hakko, H., & Väisänen, E. (1995a). The mental states of arsonists as determined by

psychiatric examinations. Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law. , 23, 4, 547 - 553.

Räsänen, P., Hakko, H., & Väisänen, E. (1995b). Arson trend increasing - a real challenge to psychiatry.

Journal of Forensic Science , 40, 6, 976 - 979.

Räsänen, P., Hirvenoja, R., Hakko, H., & Väisänen, E., (1994). Cognitive functioning ability of arsonists.

Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology, 5, 3, 615 – 620. doi: 10.1080/09585189408410855

Räsänen, P., Puumalainen, T., Janhonen, S., Väisänen, E. (1996). Fire-setting from the viewpoint of an

arsonist. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing , 34, 3, 16 - 21.

Regehr, C., & Glancy, G., (1991). Families of firesetters. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry, 2, 1, 27 – 36.

Repo, E., & Virkkunen, M. (1997a). Criminal recidivism and family histories of schizophrenic and non-

schizophrenic fire setters: Comorbid alcohol dependence in schizophreinc fire setters. Journal of

the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law , 25, 2, 207 - 215.

Repo, E., & Virkkunen, M. (1997b). Outcomes in a sample of Finnish fire-setters. Journal of Forensic

Psychiatry & Psychology , 8 , 1, 127 - 137. doi: 10.1080/09585189708411999

Repo, E., Virkkunen, M., Rawlings, R., & Linnoila, M. (1997a). Suicidal behaviour among Finnish fire

setters. European Archive of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience , 247, 303 - 307. doi:

10.1007/BF02922259

Repo, E., Virkkunen, M. , Rawlings, R., & Linnoila, M. (1997b). Criminal and psychiatric histories of

Finnish arsonists. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavia, 95, 318 – 323.


Rice, M.E., & Harris, G.T. (2008). Arson. In V. Parrillo, (Ed.) The encyclopedia of social problems. Thousand

Oaks, CA: Sage.

Rice, M.E., & Harris, G.T. (1991). Firesetters admitted to a maximum security psychiatric institution.

Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 6, 461 - 475.

Rice, M.E., & Harris, G.T. (1996). Prediciting the recidivism of mentally disordered firesetters. Journal of

Interpersonal Violence , 11, 3, 364 - 375. .

Ritchie, E.C., & Huff, T.G. (1999). Psychiatric aspects of arsonists. Journal of Forensic Science , 44, 4, 733-

740.

Rix, K.J.B. (1994). A psychiatric study of adult arsonists. Medicine, Science and the Law , 34, pp. 21 - 24.

Root, C., McKay, S., Henderson, J., Del Bove, G., & Warling, D. (2008). The link between maltreatment

and juvenile firesetting: Correlates and underlying mechanisms. Child Abuse and Neglect, 32, 161 –

176. doi: doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2007.07.004

Roy, A., Virkkunen, M., Guthrie, S., & Linnoila, M. (1986). Indices of serotonin and glucosemetabolism

in violent offenders, arsonists, and alcoholics. In J.J. Mann & M. Stanley (Eds.), Psychology of

suicidal behavior (pp. 202 – 220). NY: Academy of Science.

Russell, K. A., Cosway, R., & McNicholas, J. (2005). The development of a fireraising service for

mentally disordered offenders. Forensic Update, 83, 24-30.

Smith, J., & Short, J. (1995). Mentaly disordered firesetters. British Journal of Hospital Medicine , 53, 136-

140.

Soothill, K.L., & Pope, P.J. (1973). Arson: A Twenty-year cohort study. Medicine, Science and the Law, 13,

2, 127 – 138.

http://dx.doi.org.chain.kent.ac.uk/10.1016/j.chiabu.2007.07.004


Sugarman, P., & Dickens, G. (2009). Dangerousness in arsonists: A survey of psychiatrists' views.

Psychiatric Bulletin , 33, 99 -101. doi: 10.1192/pb.bp.108.019570.

Swaffer, T., Haggett, M., & Oxley, T. (2001). Mentally disordered firesetters: a structured intervention

programme. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy , 8, 468-475. doi: 10.1002/cpp.299 .

Traskman-Bendz, L., & Mann, J. (2002). Biological aspects of suicidal behavior. In K. Hawton & K.Van

Heeringen (Eds). The international handbook of suicide and attempted suicide. Chichester: John Wiley &

Sons Limited.

Vaughan, M.G., Qiang, F., DeLisi, M., Wright, J.P., Beaver, K.M., Perron, B.E., & Howard, M.O. (2010).

Prevalence and correlates of fire-setting in the United States: results from the National

Epidemiological Survey on alcohol and related conditions. Comprehensive Psychiatry , 5, 217 - 223.

doi: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2009.06.002.

Virkkunen, M. (1974). On arson committed by schizophrenics. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavia, 50, 2, 152 –

160. doi: DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1974.tb08204.x

Virkkunen, M. (1984). Reactive hypoglycemic tendency among arsonists. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavia ,

69, 445 - 452.

Virkkunen, M., Nuutila, A., Goodwin., F.K., & Linnoila, M. (1987). Cerebospinal fluid monamine

metabolite levels in male arsonists. Archives of General Psychiatry , 44, 241 - 247.

Virkkunen, M., De Jong, J., Bartko, J., & Linnoila, M. (1989a). Psychobiological concomitants of history

of suicide attempts among violent offenders and impulsive fire setters. Archives of General

Psychiatry, 46, 604 – 606.


Virkkunen, M., De Jong, J., Bartko, J., Goodwin, F.k., & Linnoila, M. (1989b). Relationship of

psychobiological variables to recidivism in violent offenders and impulsive fire setters. Archives of

General Psychiatry, 46, 600 – 603.

Virkkunen, M., Kallio, E., Rawlings, R., Tokola, R., Poland, R., Guidotti, A., … Linnoila, M. (1994).

Personality profiles and state aggressiveness in Finnish alcoholic, violent offencers, fire setters,

and healthy volunteers. Archives of General Psychiatry, 51, 28 – 33.

Yesavage, J.A., Benezechim, M., Ceccaldi, P., Bourgeouis, M., & Addad, M. (1983). Arson in mentally ill

and criminal populations. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. , 44, 4, 128 - 130.

mentally disordered firesetters - university of kent · cases of pyromania that meet all of the...

Documents