The Study of Developmental Risk Factors for Early Fire Involvement.

Child fireplay may be regarded as developmentally appropriate, yet can negatively impact those who engage in it and those around them. This study discusses the mental health, fire-specific, and psychosocial risk factors of children who set fires. Fifty-seven caregivers reported on their children's demographics, firesetting behaviors, mental health symptoms, and family history. Children were aged 2-6 years and the majority were male. Most children used lighters and matches on paper and small objects. The majority of the children were motivated by curiosity. Children who set more fires had more externalizing symptoms, and were more likely to have accomplices, to have been exposed to firesetting media, and to have been disciplined or punished for their firesetting behaviors. The study identifies important psychosocial risk factors among young children who set fires. Given the long-term implications of firesetting, understanding firesetting in children will set the foundation of intervention and prevention models.

A Potential Tension in DSM-5: The General Definition of Mental Disorder versus Some Specific Diagnostic Criteria.

The general concept of mental disorder specified in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is definitional in character: a mental disorder might be identified with a harmful dysfunction. The manual also contains the explicit claim that each individual mental disorder should meet the requirements posed by the definition. The aim of this article is two-fold. First, we shall analyze the definition of the superordinate concept of mental disorder to better understand what necessary (and sufficient) criteria actually characterize such a concept. Second, we shall consider the concepts of some individual mental disorders and show that they are in tension with the definition of the superordinate concept, taking pyromania and narcissistic personality disorder as case studies. Our main point is that an unexplained and not-operationalized dysfunction requirement that is included in the general definition, while being systematically violated by the diagnostic criteria of specific mental disorders, is a logical error. Then, either we unpack and operationalize the dysfunction requirement, and include explicit diagnostic criteria that can actually meet it, or we simply drop it.

[Arson and pyromania, update 2015]. / Incendiaires et pyromanes.

While the fire constitutes a threat and provokes avoidance by the entire animal world, its control as lighting and maintenance is inseparable from the history of humankind. For 1% of the population that use is turned to harm, repeatedly and without objective reason, responding to the historical definition of pyromania. The profile of arsonists does not appear to be different from that of the general criminal population: alcohol abuse, nicotine, marijuana and antisocial personality do not make fire setters a special case. However positive fire experience lived in childhood, emotional avoidance and expertise in fire settings' control seems to be specific, as recidivism risk below that of the general criminal population.

Developing an assessment of fire-setting to guide treatment in secure settings: the St Andrew's Fire and Arson Risk Instrument (SAFARI).

BACKGROUND: Arson and fire-setting are highly prevalent among patients in secure psychiatric settings but there is an absence of valid and reliable assessment instruments and no evidence of a significant approach to intervention. AIMS: To develop a semi-structured interview assessment specifically for fire-setting to augment structured assessments of risk and need. METHOD: The extant literature was used to frame interview questions relating to the antecedents, behaviour and consequences necessary to formulate a functional analysis. Questions also covered readiness to change, fire-setting self-efficacy, the probability of future fire-setting, barriers to change, and understanding of fire-setting behaviour. The assessment concludes with indications for assessment and a treatment action plan. The inventory was piloted with a sample of women in secure care and was assessed for comprehensibility, reliability and validity. RESULTS: Staff rated the St Andrews Fire and Risk Instrument (SAFARI) as acceptable to patients and easy to administer. SAFARI was found to be comprehensible by over 95% of the general population, to have good acceptance, high internal reliability, substantial test-retest reliability and validity. CONCLUSIONS: SAFARI helps to provide a clear explanation of fire-setting in terms of the complex interplay of antecedents and consequences and facilitates the design of an individually tailored treatment programme in sympathy with a cognitive-behavioural approach. Further studies are needed to verify the reliability and validity of SAFARI with male populations and across settings.

Afterword: Beyond Diagnosis to Mourning and the Meaning of Symptoms.

Reports of destructive behavior by military personnel after demobilization have become more frequent; however, the pathways that might lead these individuals to commit such acts are not clear enough. This column presents the case of a retired soldier who reported the onset of pyromania after military service, and the relationship between dissociation and reenactment of the trauma is discussed. The main conclusions are that psychotherapy of traumatized patients should focus on helping them create a verbal representation of the trauma and that integrating ceremonies and rituals into treatment is a possible and significant option.

Personality profiles and state aggressiveness in Finnish alcoholic, violent offenders, fire setters, and healthy volunteers.

BACKGROUND: Based on clinical observations in a series of studies on Finnish alcoholic, violent offenders, we asserted that the impulsive offenders represented an extreme group of type 2 alcoholics. We also observed that these subjects were vulnerable to hypoglycemia after the administration of oral glucose load. Furthermore, we believe that while being hypoglycemic, the impulsive offenders are particularly irritable and aggressive. In the present study, we addressed these issues by studying psychological trait and state variables in a new group of violent offenders and fire setters, and age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers. METHODS: Fifty-eight alcoholic, violent offenders and impulsive fire setters and 21 healthy volunteers were administered the Karolinska scales of personality and the Rosenzweig picture frustration test after an oral aspartame and glucose challenge. RESULTS: The psychological test results and the criminal histories of the offenders, together with biochemical measurements, suggest that a low 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid concentration in cerebrospinal fluid in the alcoholic offenders is associated with irritability and impaired impulse control, and a high free testosterone concentration in cerebrospinal fluid is associated with increased aggressiveness, monotony avoidance, sensation seeking, suspiciousness, and reduced socialization. CONCLUSION: Finnish alcoholic, impulsive offenders have personality profiles characteristic of Scandinavian early-onset male alcoholics with antisocial traits, who have been also referred to as type 2 alcoholics.

Psychobiological concomitants of history of suicide attempts among violent offenders and impulsive fire setters.

Psychobiological data on 58 violent offenders and impulsive fire setters were analyzed for associations with history of suicide attempts. Subjects with a history of suicide attempts serious enough to require an admission to a medical facility had significantly lower mean cerebrospinal fluid 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol concentrations than subjects who had not made such attempts. A linear discriminant function analysis based on psychobiological and behavioral variables correctly classified 79% of the subjects according to the suicide attempt history positive and negative outcomes.

CSF biochemistries, glucose metabolism, and diurnal activity rhythms in alcoholic, violent offenders, fire setters, and healthy volunteers.

BACKGROUND: There is an extensive literature describing a central serotonin deficit in alcoholic, impulsive, violent offenders and fire setters. In the present study, we investigated biochemical concomitants of impulsivity and aggressiveness, and the physiological consequences of reduced central serotonin turnover. METHODS: Forty-three impulsive and 15 nonimpulsive alcoholic offenders and 21 healthy volunteers were studied in the forensic psychiatry ward of a university psychiatric department. The subjects underwent lumbar punctures and oral glucose and aspartame challenges, and their diurnal activity rhythm was measured with physical activity monitors. Discriminant function analyses were used to investigate psychophysiological and biochemical concomitants of aggressive and impulsive behaviors. RESULTS: Alcoholic, impulsive offenders with antisocial personality disorder had low mean cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and corticotropin levels and high mean CSF testosterone concentrations. Compared with healthy volunteers, they showed increased physical activity during the daytime. Alcoholic, impulsive offenders with intermittent explosive disorder had a low mean CSF 5-HIAA concentration and blood glucose nadir after an oral glucose challenge, and desynchronized diurnal activity rhythm. Healthy volunteers had mean CSF 5-HIAA concentrations that were intermediate between those of alcoholic, impulsive and nonimpulsive offenders. Alcoholic, nonimpulsive offenders had a significantly higher mean CSF 5-HIAA concentration than all the other groups, including healthy volunteers. CONCLUSIONS: In the present sample, a low CSF 5-HIAA concentration was primarily associated with impulsivity and high CSF testosterone concentration, with aggressiveness or interpersonal violence.

Relationship of psychobiological variables to recidivism in violent offenders and impulsive fire setters. A follow-up study.

Fifty-eight violent offenders and impulsive fire setters were followed up for an average of 3 years after release from prison. Recidivists who committed a new violent offense or arson had significantly lower cerebrospinal fluid 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and homovanillic acid concentrations and blood glucose nadirs after oral glucose challenge than did nonrecidivists. A discriminant analysis, based on the blood glucose nadir and cerebrospinal fluid 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid concentration, correctly classified 84.2% of the subjects.

A prospective follow-up study of alcoholic violent offenders and fire setters.

BACKGROUND: This study investigated biochemical and family variables and predictors of recidivism among forensic psychiatric patients who had committed violent offenses or set fires. METHODS: One hundred fourteen male alcoholic violent offenders and fire setters were followed up for an average of 4.5 years after release from prison. At the beginning of their incarceration, the first half of the offenders were administered clinical diagnostic interviews, whereas the latter half received the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III (SCID) that was blind rated. A structured family history questionnaire was administered to all available first-degree relatives of offenders. The offenders also received lumbar punctures for monoamine metabolites, an oral glucose tolerance test, and a measurement of fasting plasma cholesterol level. At the end of the follow-up, the Finnish criminal registry was searched for recidivist crimes. RESULTS: Among all offenders, low cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and homovanillic acid (HVA) concentrations were associated with a family history positive for paternal alcoholism with violence. Low plasma cholesterol concentration was associated with a family history positive for paternal alcoholism without violence. The recidivists, who committed violent offenses or set fires during the follow-up period, had low CSF 5-HIAA and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) concentrations compared with those in nonrecidivists. Early family environments of the recidivists, compared with those of the nonrecidivists, were characterized by common paternal absence from and presence of brothers at home. CONCLUSION: Among male alcoholic violent offenders and fire setters, low CSF 5-HIAA and HVA concentrations are strongly associated with a family history positive for paternal violence and alcoholism, while low fasting plasma cholesterol concentration is associated with a family history positive for paternal alcoholism. Recidivist violent offenders and fire setters are predicted by low CSF 5-HIAA and MHPG concentrations and a developmental history positive for early paternal absence from and presence of brothers in the family of origin.

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.

A Practical Guide to Assessing Adult Firesetters' Fire-Specific Treatment Needs Using the Four Factor Fire Scales.

OBJECTIVE: Practitioners working with offenders who have set fires have access to very few measures examining fire-specific treatment needs (e.g., fire interest, fire attitudes). In this article we examine the new Four Factor Fire Scales (Ó Ciardha et al., 2015), which may be used by practitioners to examine fire-specific treatment needs for offenders who have set deliberate fires. We present a standardized scoring procedure when using these scales, as well as an associated scoring template for practitioner use. METHOD: Norm data are based on male and female firesetters (n = 378) and nonfiresetters (n = 187) recruited from 19 prison establishments (including six female establishments, one young offender institution) and 12 secure mixed-gender mental health settings. RESULTS: We present a full overview of all data we have collected to date relating to the Four Factor Fire Scales across prison, mental health, and young offending participants. For each population, we present mean scores as well as associated cutoff scores and reliable change indices to aid practitioners in their interpretation of scores. CONCLUSIONS: The Four Factor Fire Scales provide professionals working in the area with a robust template for administering, scoring, and interpreting the fire-specific factors currently identified as playing a role in deliberate firesetting behavior. Strengths and limitations of the measure are discussed.

The relationship of DSM-IV pathological gambling to compulsive buying and other possible spectrum disorders: results from the Iowa PG family study.

This study investigates the possible relationship between pathological gambling (PG) and potential spectrum disorders including the DSM-IV impulse control disorders (intermittent explosive disorder, kleptomania, pyromania, trichotillomania) and several non-DSM disorders (compulsive buying disorder, compulsive sexual behavior, Internet addiction). PG probands, controls, and their first-degree relatives were assessed with instruments of known reliability. Detailed family history information was collected on relatives who were deceased or unavailable. Best estimate diagnoses were assigned blind to family status. The results were analyzed using logistic regression by the method of generalized estimating equations. The sample included 95 probands with PG, 91 controls, and 1075 first-degree relatives (537 PG, 538 controls). Compulsive buying disorder and having "any spectrum disorder" were more frequent in the PG probands and their first-degree relatives vs. controls and their relatives. Spectrum disorders were significantly more prevalent among PG relatives compared to control relatives (adjusted OR=8.37), though much of this difference was attributable to the contribution from compulsive buying disorder. We conclude that compulsive buying disorder is likely part of familial PG spectrum.

Children's descriptions of their firesetting incidents: characteristics and relationship to recidivism.

OBJECTIVE: The primary purpose of the study was to identify characteristics of children's firesetting incidents and examine the relationship of reported characteristics to psychopathology and firesetting history. METHOD: A sample of 95 firesetters were interviewed using the Fire Incident Analysis for Children (FIAC). Other child or parent measures were obtained reflecting behavioral correlates and risk factors for firesetting at initial assessment, and firesetting history measures at 2-year follow-up. RESULTS: Access to incendiaries, lack of child remorse and parental consequences, and motives of curiosity and fun were commonly reported characteristics. Certain firesetting characteristics were associated with follow-up recidivism. Repeat versus single-incident firesetters at initial assessment were similar in firesetting characteristics but differed in measures of psychopathology and follow-up recidivism. CONCLUSIONS: Children can report on personal and environmental details of their firesetting incidents, which may help to identify those children most at-risk for setting an additional fire. The findings bear implications for understanding firesetting risk-assessment measures, the role of specialized child interviews, and potential predictors of firesetting recidivism among children.

The use of vapour phase ultra-violet spectroscopy for the analysis of arson accelerants in fire scene debris.

A method has been developed for the analysis of arson accelerants in fire scene debris by vapour phase ultra-violet (UV) spectroscopy. The method is rapid, inexpensive, simple to use and is sufficiently sensitive and discriminating to be of use for the analysis of crime scene samples. Application to casework samples is described. On occasion, the method offers additional information to that which can be obtained by gas chromatography-flame ionisation detection (GC-FID) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and represents a useful adjunct to these techniques. In addition, the method offers advantages where the use of GC-MS analysis of arson accelerants in fire scene debris is not a practical proposition.

Assessment of dimensions of childhood firesetting among patients and nonpatients: the Firesetting Risk Interview.

A model of firesetting risk poses that high curiosity, involvement in fire-related activities, exposure to peer/parental models, limited knowledge and skill related to fires, and poor parental supervision, among other features, are characteristic of firesetters. To operationalize several domains of the model, the Firesetting Risk Interview (FRI) for parents was developed consisting of 15 a priori dimensions. To provide a partial test of the measure and its generality across children with and without clinical dysfunction, 343 children (ages 6-13) and parents were drawn from samples of nonpatients (nonreferred), outpatients, and inpatients. In accord with the model, firesetters and nonfiresetters were found to differ in their curiosity about fire, recent involvement in fire-related activities, expression of negative emotions, early experiences with fire, exposure to others' involvement with fire, and parents' use of general disciplinary consequences. These group differences did not interact with the child's clinical status, level of antisocial behavior, or demographic background.

The children's firesetting interview with psychiatrically referred and nonreferred children.

This study evaluated the Children's Firesetting Interview (CFI). The measure was developed to operationalize multiple domains of functioning derived from a risk-factor model of firesetting. The model poses that child, parent, and family characteristics promote firesetting and continuation of a pattern of firesetting. Major factors include curiosity about fire, involvement in and exposure to fire-related activities, and knowledge about first safety The CFI, consisting of 46 questions reflecting six a priori dimensions, was administered to 519 children (ages 6-13) recruited from nonpatient, outpatient, and inpatient samples. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the measure were satisfactory. Criterion validity was supported by the findings that firesetters showed greater curiosity about fire, involvement in fire-related activities, exposure to models/materials, and knowledge about things that burn than did nonfiresetters. These findings did not vary as a function of the child's patient status or level of antisocial behavior. Implications for the evaluation of firesetting risk are discussed.

A conceptualization of firesetting in children and adolescents.

Juvenile firesetting has been studied from different perspectives and by multiple disciplines. Although evidence has begun to emerge regarding the antecedents and correlates of firesetting as well as characteristics of firesetters and their families, the findings and their conceptual bases remain somewhat diffuse. This paper integrates major findings reported in the juvenile firesetting literature and provides a tentative model of firesetting risk based on the current evidence. The model highlights several factors within three major domains: learning experiences and cues, personal repertoires, and parent and family influences and stressors. Implications of the model for early identification, diagnosis, and treatment of firesetters are discussed.

A psychiatric study of persons charged with arson.

A total of 29 court-referred individuals charged with arson were psychiatrically studied. From this pre-trial cohort from a large heterogeneous urban population base, a higher rate of psychosis was found than in other recent studies. However, consistent with these studies was the rarity of the diagnosis of pyromania. An important finding of this study was the substantial number of fires set by individuals who are homeless mentally disordered or substance abusing, or both.

Childhood cruelty to animals, firesetting, and enuresis as correlates of competence to stand trial.

The present study investigated the incidence of the childhood symptoms of cruelty to animals, firesetting , and enuresis in the case reports of 1935 offenders evaluated at a court psychiatric clinic. The presence of all or part of this triad of symptoms was more common in those found competent to stand trial than in those found incompetent. However, no association was found between the presence of the triad of symptoms in those charged with violent crimes and those charged with nonviolent crimes.