Two-year Prediction of Children's Firesetting in Clinically Referred and Nonreferred Samples

Abstract

This study provides the first prospective evaluation of the course and predictors of children's involvement with fire over a 2-year period in 268 nonpatient and patient children (ages 6-13 yrs). Selected predictor variables obtained at initial (intake) assessment, which included fire-specific and general psychosocial measures, were examined in each sample using hierarchical logistic regression. Both samples reported heightened involvement in matchplay and firesetting at follow-up, though the frequency of each behavior was nearly four times higher in patients than in nonpatients. Fifty per cent and 59% of the initial firesetters in the nonpatient and patient samples, respectively, became recidivists. In the nonpatient sample, the child's initial involvement in firesetting and level of covert antisocial behavior were the only psychosocial predictors of follow-up firesetting that added incremental variance beyond demographics. In the patient sample, the child's initial involvement in fire-related acts and level of covert antisocial behavior were the only predictors of follow-up firesetting beyond any initial involvement in matchplay. The findings highlight somewhat different risk factors for subsequent firesetting in nonpatient and patient children, especially prior firesetting and matchplay, respectively, and bear implications for the prevention of firesetting recidivism.

A Burning Desire: Steps Toward an Evolutionary Psychology of Fire Learning

“…Eighty-one percent of children surveyed reported being interested in fire and, across ages, curiosity was the motive cited most frequently to explain the behavior. As a comparison group for a clinical sample, Kolko et al (2001) conducted a three-year longitudinal study of a community sample of 100 boys and 62 girls, age 6-13 (mean = 9.5), with follow-up interviews at one and two years. Results reveal quite consistent patterns wherein, at any one time, approximately one-third of the children report being interested in fire, slightly less than half report playing with matches, and slightly less than one-third report having set play fires.…”

Research and Practice in Adolescent Firesetting

“…This finding holds true for clinical and at-risk samples (Kolko, Day, Bridge, & Kazdin, 2001;Showers & Pickrell, 1987). The gender difference in prevalence rate emerges early in life (Dadds, Fraser, Frost, & Hawes, 2005;Grolnick, Cole, Laurentis, & Schwartzman, 1990) and persists across development into adulthood (Vaughn et al, 2010).…”

Do Burn Centers Provide Juvenile Firesetter Intervention?

“…5,9,12 As our understanding has grown regarding the various factors associated with firesetting, it is apparent that intervention must be multifaceted, appropriate, and well structured to successfully eradicate the firesetting behavior. 2,4,6,7,14,16 Fear-inducing or scare tactics can be counterproductive as educational and interventional approaches in youth and should be avoided. 6,12 However, several non-JFSI centers responding to the survey report that courts and other agencies mandate provision of burn unit tours and educational sessions to firesetting youth, presumably by staff without JFSI training.…”

“…A literature search revealed considerable work in Mental Health journals regarding characteristics, behaviors, subtypes, and therapy for juvenile firesetters. 8,[13][14][15] However, sparse information on JFSI exists in the burn literature. Specifically, only five articles have been published in the past 27 years; the minimal data that does exist involves a few individual JFSI programs.…”