A Study of Arsonists in a Special Security Hospital

Abstract

During the course of a recent analysis of one year's male admissions to Rampton Hospital, and of male referrals to the psychology department, attempts were made to distinguish various offence patterns by means of psychological laboratory techniques. The results were largely disappointing, owing mainly to the great amount of overlap in the numerous crimes committed by the same patients. However, using a galvanic skin response (G.S.R.) conditioning procedure similar to that described by Tong (1958), it was noted that those patients who had committed arson revealed a normal distribution of conditioned responses (see Table I), whereas every other offence pattern was positively skewed towards the low condition-ability end of the dimension (Esher, Orme, McKerracher, 1965). This suggested that further differentiation might be possible, and a full analysis was made of a number of case history factors in those patients who had, amongst other crimes, been charged with and found guilty of, committing arson. Comparison was made with the remaining patients, guilty of other crimes but not of arson.

Firesetting: Psychopathology, theory and treatment

“…Using this procedure, 60% of the firesetters were characterized as property offenders. Other researchers have also concluded that firesetters are not generally characterized by interpersonal violence (Jackson, Glass, & Hope, 1987a;Hurley & Monahan, 1969;RŠsŠnen, et al, 1995;Soothill et al, 2004) or sexual offending (McKerracher & Dacre, 1966). In support of these findings, recidivism research shows that firesetters are more likely to recidivate non-violently than they are to recidivate violently over a mean follow up period of 7.8 years (57% non violent recidivism versus 31% violent recidivism; Rice & Harris, 1996).…”

“…Within the adult firesetting population, commonly documented comorbid diagnoses are schizophrenia (Geller, 1987;McKerracher & Dacre, 1966;Ritchie & Huff, 1999;Virkkunen, 1974), substance dependence (Grant & Kim, 2007;RŠsŠnen et al, 1996;Ritchie & Huff, 1999), affective disorders (Geller, 1987;Grant & Kim, 2007;Ritchie & Huff, 1999), anxiety disorders (Grant & Kim, 2007), and personality disorder (Barnett and Spitzer, 1994;Geller, 1987;Lindberg et al, 2005;Tennent et al, 1971;Virkkunen, DeJong, Bartko, Goodwin, & Linnoila, 1989). PyromaniaÑin particularÑis also associated with impulse control disorders; most notably kleptomania and compulsive buying (Grant & Kim, 2007).…”

“…The most common diagnoses associated with firesetting appears to be conduct disorder or antisocial personality disorder (APA, 2000;Bradford, 1982; Heath et al, 1985;Kolko, 1985;Kolko & Kazdin, 1991a;Kosky & Silburn, 1984;MacKay et al, 2006;Martin, Bergen, Richardson, Roeger, & Allison, 2004;Repo & Virkkunen, 1997;Sakheim & Osborn, 1999). In fact, empirical research with Finnish firesetter recidivists shows that antisocial personality disorder predicts recidivist firesetting (Lindberg et al, 2005) and, conversely, firesetting behavior flags those individuals characterized by the most extreme antisocial pathology (Becker, Stuewig, Herrera & McCloskey, 2004;Martin et al, 2004).Within the adult firesetting population, commonly documented comorbid diagnoses are schizophrenia (Geller, 1987;McKerracher & Dacre, 1966;Ritchie & Huff, 1999;Virkkunen, 1974), substance dependence (Grant & Kim, 2007;RŠsŠnen et al, 1996;Ritchie & Huff, 1999), affective disorders (Geller, 1987;Grant & Kim, 2007;Ritchie & Huff, 1999), anxiety disorders (Grant & Kim, 2007), and personality disorder (Barnett and Spitzer, 1994;Geller, 1987;Lindberg et al, 2005;Tennent et al, 1971;Virkkunen, DeJong, Bartko, Goodwin, & Linnoila, 1989). PyromaniaÑin particularÑis also associated with impulse control disorders; most notably kleptomania and compulsive buying (Grant & Kim, 2007).…”

The Multi-Trajectory Theory of Adult Firesetting (M-TTAF)

“…For example, firesetting motivated by fire interest may stem from early positive exposure to fire (e.g., a firefighter father; Gannon & Pina, 2010). Furthermore, revenge, or firesetting related to anger (i.e., displaced aggression; McKerracher & Dacre, 1966) may also be adequately explained by social learning theory. Social learning theory predicts that environmental reinforcement contingencies shape an individual's self regulatory responses (Baumeister & Vohs, 2004).…”

Risk Factors for Recidivistic Arson in Adult Offenders

“…Similarly, as with many offenders, a history of social deprivation, childhood adversity including physical and/or sexual abuse, and a high rate of behavioural disorders have been reported for adult arson samples (Bland, Mezey, & Dolan, 1999;Bourget & Bradford, 1989;Heath, Hardesty, Goldfine, & Walker, 1985;Joukamaa & Tuovinen, 1983;Leong, 1992). Several authors highlight psychosocial deficits in arsonist samples, specifically in relation to social skills and interpersonal domains (Barker, 1994;Bradford, 1982;O'Sullivan & Kelleher, 1987;Puri, Baxter, & Cordess, 1995;Sapsford, Banks, & Smith, 1978;Vreeland & Levin, 1980) while others find arsonists are less self-confident and assertive when compared to non-arsonists (Geller, 1987;Harris & Rice, 1984;Hurley & Monahan, 1969;Inciardi, 1970;McKerracher & Dacre, 1966;Rice & Harris, 1991). However, the evidence from studies of serial arsonists is limited.…”