The Development and Validation of the Firesetting Questionnaire

Abstract

This research developed and evaluated a measure to examine fire-specific constructs relevant to fire misuse. In the first study, using UK community members asked to disclose deliberate firesetting, we tested a large pool of theoretically informed questionnaire items. First, we found that 1 in 10 adults reported setting a deliberate fire that they had not been apprehended for. Then, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses suggested an eight-factor measure with broader coverage of theoretically-informed risk factors, relative to previous measures, and acceptable test item validity and robust internal consistencies. In the second study, we tested the Firesetting Questionnaire with imprisoned men who held a record of firesetting and imprisoned and community comparisons. The findings illustrated psychometric robustness. Our results suggest that the Firesetting Questionnaire has the potential to be a useful clinical tool for highlighting fire-specific treatment needs and informing clinical formulation and associated risk management.

Non-criminalised fire use and self-concept: a preliminary grounded theory study

“…Existing theoretical work has also focused on firesetting as an antisocial behaviour. The most contemporary theory of adult firesetting is the multi-trajectory theory of adult firesetting (M-TTAF) (Gannon et al , 2012; Gannon et al , 2022), which describes developmental, biological, cultural, social learning and contextual factors, which interact with psychological vulnerabilities such as inappropriate fire interest to facilitate and reinforce firesetting. The M-TTAF is of relevance to the current research because there are aspects of the theory that relate to our primary focus – self-concept (SC).…”

Developing Typologies of Adult Arson in the Aotearoa New Zealand Context

“…Multifaceted (Gannon et al, , 2022. The M-TTAF trajectories perform well against Ward and Carter's (2019) criteria.…”

“…Before reviewing the extant literature on adult firesetting literature, it is important to provide an overview of the nomenclature used to describe firesetting. The terminology used to describe firesetting varies in meaning and usage within the literature, determining the target population and the research generalisability (Gannon et al, 2022). Firesetting is an umbrella term that includes all igniting of fires in inappropriate settings or to inappropriate targets -fire use outside socially, legally, or culturally sanctioned parameters (i.e., barbequing food versus burning a house down) (Doley et al, 2016).…”

“…The Multi-trajectory Theory of Adult Firesetting (M-TTAF; Gannon et al, , 2022) is a contemporary two-tier theory of adult firesetting that contains a 'theoretically nested' typology (Tyler & Gannon, 2021). Tier 1 of the M-TTAF provides an aetiological framework that outlines the distal (e.g., developmental, biological, temperament, cultural, learning, and contextual factors) and proximal factors (e.g., psychological vulnerabilities/dynamic risk factors, triggers and moderators) that interact to facilitate firesetting (Gannon et al, , 2022.…”

“…The Multi-trajectory Theory of Adult Firesetting (M-TTAF; Gannon et al, , 2022) is a contemporary two-tier theory of adult firesetting that contains a 'theoretically nested' typology (Tyler & Gannon, 2021). Tier 1 of the M-TTAF provides an aetiological framework that outlines the distal (e.g., developmental, biological, temperament, cultural, learning, and contextual factors) and proximal factors (e.g., psychological vulnerabilities/dynamic risk factors, triggers and moderators) that interact to facilitate firesetting (Gannon et al, , 2022. Tier 2 outlines five prototypical subtypes or trajectories of firesetting based on their unique combinations of psychological vulnerabilities/risk factors, clinical features, and hypothesized motivations derived from Tier 1: Antisocial, Grievance, Emotionally Expressive/Need for Recognition, Fire Interest, and…”