Firesetters: Psychological Explanations of Behaviour

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FiresettersPsychological Explanations of
Behaviour

• Ciarán O'Keeffe
• Liverpool Hope University College

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Session Content

• Arson
• Definition
• Incidence Prevalence
• Motives
• Pyromania
• Case Study

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Definition

• Arson is one of the few serious offences that can
  be committed without direct, or face-to-face
  contact with an intended victim.
• Defined as a crime which has been regarded both
  as a category of property offences (Hill et al.,
  1982), because its most obvious feature is the
  destruction of property, also as an offence
  which targets individuals or groups (Barnett,
  1992, Lewis Yarnell, 1951).
• The Criminal Damage Act (1971) enables the
  offence of destroying or damaging property by
  fire to be charged as arson (s.1(3)).

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Incidence Prevalence

• USA (FBIs UCR data)
• Arson by type of property (2002)
• Total 66,308
• Total structure 27,373
• Total mobile 20,736
• UK (ODPM data)
• Number of malicious incidents (2001)
• Total 123,200
• However, Total juvenile offences (2002)
  60,470

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Possible explanations/motives?

• WHAT DO YOU THINK?

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Early explanations
19th century - adolescent females having problems
with puberty or menstruation
The Acquisition of Power over Fire -
in order to possess himself of fire, it was
necessary for man to renounce the homosexually
tinged desire to extinguish it with a stream of
urine. Freud (1932)
the majority of pyromaniacs, both male and
female, describe sexual excitement while
watching the blaze, and some masturbate at the
scene The investigator will want to talk to
anyone seen masturbating in the area
Macdonald (1977)
urination is a psychological form of sexual
gratification for the pyromaniac, and its
impossible for him to function in front of other
people Barracato (1979)
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Differences between firesetters non-firesetters
69 firesetters versus 78 non-firesetters 33
behavioural problems (out of 84)
Wooden Berkey (1984)
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Characteristics of firesetters
Relationship social problems

• less assertive
• shy and withdrawn
• socially isolated (hobbies, marital status)
• less aggressive, less intelligent (borderline)
• younger, less physically attractive
• more extensive psychiatric histories

Fear of negative evaluation low confidence in
being able to deal effectively with face to face
confrontation
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Jackson (1994) model
Intensified interest in fire (pyromania)
Change in environment (praise, attention,
avoidance)
Increased perceived effectiveness and self esteem
Increased arousal
Restricted access to fire, social contact
Fire-setting
Special school, hospital, prison
Experience of effects of fire (personal or
vicarious
Increase in interpersonal problems
Anger/frustration
Desire to change situation/environment
Perceived inability to effect social change
Triggering event
Dissatisfaction with life and self
Psychosocial disadvantage
History of social ineffectiveness
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Possible Motives

• Revenge, Spite or Jealousy
• Includes jilted lovers, feuding neighbours,
  disenchanted employees.
• They are likely to have pre-cons for burglary,
  criminal damage theft perpetrator will
  normally offend alone
• Alcohol/drugs are often associated.
• Vandalism or Malicious Mischief
• Fires set to challenge authority or to relieve
  themselves from their all encompassing boredom,
  (Swanson et al.,1988).
• Crime concealment or diversion
• 7-9 of convicted arsonists believed to be trying
  to obliterate evidence of burglaries, larcenies,
  murders
• Another aim may be to destroy records which would
  lead to the discovery of fraud, embezzlement or
  forgery, (Swanson et al., 1988).

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Motives

• Profit, insurance fraud
• Attracts professional/semi-professional
  arsonists.
• Consequently little hard data to support motive.
• Vreeland Levin (1980) have studied arson for
  profit which can be seen as a more extreme form
  of arson than the motivation of vandalism
• Intimidation, Extortion, Terrorism, Sabotage
• E.g. fires set in strikes, destruction of
  abortion clinics, burning churches.
• In relation to defending ones patch in, for
  example, the narcotics prostitution industries,
  (Swanson et al.,1988).
• Pyromania other psychological motives
• Pyromania is a psychiatric term. Before setting
  fire, individual is said to experience a build-up
  of tension once the fire is underway, he or she
  experiences intense pleasure or release (APA,
  1994)

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Motives Prevalence (Icove Estepp, 1987)

• Revenge
• Vandalism
• Crime concealment
• Profit
• Excitement
• Other (unspecified)

• 2
• 8
• 49
• 25
• 14
• 1

Survey of 1,016 juveniles adults arrested for
arson MATCH to MOTIVE
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Pyromania

• Defined during the 19th century as a chronic
  impulse to set fires anyone who fitted that
  description was classified as legally insane.
• According to the DSM, pyromania is defined as
  repeated deliberate and purposeful firesetting
  associated with tension or affective arousal
  before the act, followed by intense pleasure or
  relief when setting the fires or
  witnessing/participating in its aftermath

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Pyromania

• DSM-III-R lists several behavioural traits that
  define the pyromaniac, such as making elaborate
  preparations before starting a fire, being a
  regular observer at fires, setting off false
  alarms, and showing an interest in fire-fighting
  paraphernalia
• Other symptoms listed in the manual include
• frequent alcohol intoxication,
• psychosexual dysfunction,
• lower than average intelligence,
• chronic personal frustrations,
• resentment of authority figures.

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Pyromania contd.

• Pyromania is the diagnosis least frequently used
  for firesetting, as they are more likely to be
  viewed by mental health practitioners as
  suffering from either a conduct disorder, an
  antisocial personality disorder, schizophrenia or
  an organic mental disorder.
• The incidence of schizophrenia among arsonists
  detained in psychiatric institutions generally
  ranges from 10-30
• Mather (1977) reported a much higher rate,
  stating that 75 of male female arsonists in
  Broadmoor were schizophrenic

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Comparison with other offenders

• Hill, R.W et al. (1982)
• Compared arson with property offenders violent
  offenders on a number of clinical measures
• It was found that arsonists were a mixture of the
  two groups but the majority aligned with property
  offenders in personality, diagnosis, criminal
  violence history, family background, alcohol
  drug use as well as in sexual behaviour.

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Psychoanalytic explanations

• Psychoanalysis
• Harris Rice (1984)
• Discuss the work of early psychoanalysts who
  used case studies taken from therapy, to
  formulate a theory of firesetting that had a
  psycho-sexual basis.
• Stekel (1924)
• Believed that firesetting was a symbolic way of
  resolving conflict between instinct reality,
  with regard to ungratified sexuality.
• Freud (1932)
• Theory centred on a fixation, or regression, to
  the phallic-urethral stage of libidinal
  development, to explain the basis for sexual
  deviation thought to be present in firesetters.

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Psychoanalytic explanations contd.

• Psychoanalysis
• Later psychoanalysts, whilst continuing to focus
  on a basis of sexual deviation for firesetting,
  presented theories of
• relationships between enuresis, cruelty to
  animals firesetting, and
• between masturbation, homosexuality
  firesetting.
• Are these theories a helpful tool in
  understanding the possible underlying dynamics
  characteristics of firesetters in a particular
  sample?
• But theories are not able to be generalised to
  explain the actions behaviours characteristic
  of firesetting.

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Case Study 1 - Andrew

• Andrew, a 32-year old man, has been sentenced for
  5 years imprisonment for an arson attack on the
  home of his ex-wife their 4-year old daughter.
  He had no previous history of fire setting.
• In prison, following detoxification from alcohol,
  he told staff that he had become increasingly
  resentful towards his wife for ending their
  marriage without any justification.
• All the same, he had been sure that his wife
  would eventually come to her senses take him
  back into the marital home. He therefore visited
  her regularly.
• When he found out that she had started a
  relationship with another man behind his back, he
  set the house alight using a crude petrol
  firebomb. He told the police that a voice in his
  head had told him to do it.

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Case Study 1 contd.

• In court his ex-wife said that the patient had
  been smoking large amounts of crack and drinking
  eight or more cans of superstrength lager per day
  for the last two years of their marriage.
• His behaviour had become increasingly erratic -
  he could be morbidly jealous, paranoid and
  sometimes violent. He could not accept that he
  had any problem with drink or drugs.
• Following the break-up of the marriage, and
  despite court injunctions against him, he would
  break into the house late at night, accusing his
  former partner of secretly plotting to destroy
  him.

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Case Study - Outcome

• Conclusion
• Severe mental health problems associated with
  alcohol drug use leading to offending.
• Response
• During his alcohol detox he was closely monitored
  by prison staff who were concerned by his low
  mood. He was assessed by a psychiatrist
  prescribed an oral anti-psychotic an
  anti-depressant, was seen every fortnight by a
  counsellor. Symptoms of psychosis diminished
  his mood improved within the first few weeks of
  treatment.

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Personality of Firesetters

• Rice Harris (1991)
• Discuss social isolation in arsonists, report
  that firesetters are less assertive, describe
  themselves as shy withdrawn, have difficulty
  in expressing anger.
• Recidivist arsonists were less likely to have a
  history of interpersonal conflict, and were more
  likely to set fires with a motive of revenge or
  anger, supports displacement aggression
  hypothesis -Jackson, Hope Glass (1987).

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Personality/Typology

• Rice Harris (1991)
• In an attempt to formulate a typology of arson
  they found that over half of their sample of 243
  male arsonists were extremely unassertive as
  compared to normal populations, that they
  displayed common motives of anger revenge.
• Bradford Dimock (1986)
• Report that juvenile arsonists exhibit more
  anti-social behaviour than adults, that they
  have a range of psycho-social difficulties in
  their interactions with the world.

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Current Research

• Aims to classify different forms of fire setting
  behaviour
• Previous typologies based on clinical data
• Present research based on police/ behavioural
  data
• Useful for both investigative and treatment
  applications

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Importance of Target
Person residential partner other known self
more serious accelerant multiple seats multiple
items lives endangered
Object business public building cars misc-skips,
bins
repetition multiple offenders vandalism close to
home
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What is the motive/ function?
instrumental
threats prior trigger specific to victim other
crime committed forced entry
expressive
suicide ideation trigger not specific witness repe
tition public building/hospitals
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Four Types
instrumental person revenge
victim known prior arguments planning and
targeting accelerant outburst trigger specific
to victim alcohol
expressive person pseudo-suicide
self own home lives endangered suicide
ideation drugs multiple seats
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cars school multiple offenders forced
entry theft/ vandalism spree
instrumental object vandalism/crime concealment
expressive object excitement
serial business multiple items public
building trigger event outside crusade
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Characteristics of Arsonists
Repeat Arsonist false alarms social
services personality disorder age 25
Psychiatric History psychosis depression psychiatr
ic suicide female age 31
expressive
Failed Relationship cohabiting separated alcoholi
sm unskilled age 31
Young Offender parents school trouble caution soci
al services age 16
instrumental
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Additional references

• Canter, D. Fritzon, K. (1998) Differentiating
  arsonists A model of fire setting actions and
  characteristics. Legal and criminal behaviour.
  Vol. 3, pp 73-96.
• Fineman, K. R. (1995) A model for the
  qualitative analysis of child and adult fire
  deviant behaviour. American journal of forensic
  psychology. Vol 13, 1, pp31-60.
• Harris, G. T. Rice, M. E (1984) Mentally
  disordered firesetters Psychodynamic versus
  empirical approaches. International journal of
  law and psychiatry. Vol. 9, pp 267-285.
• Harris, G. T. Rice, M. E. (1996) A typology of
  mentally disordered firesetters. Journal of
  interpersonal violence. Vol. 11, No. 3,
  pp351-363.
• Jackson, H. F., Glass, C. Hope, S. (1987) A
  functional analysis of recidivistic arson.
  British Journal of Clinical Psychology Vol. 26.
  pp175-185.
• Jackson, H. F. (1994) Assessment of fire
  setters, in McMurran, M. Hodge, J. (ed) The
  assessment of criminal behaviours of clients in
  forensic settings. Jessica Kingsley, London.
• McKerrcher, D. W. Dacre, J. I. (1969) A study
  of arsonists in a special security hospital.
  British journal of psychiatry, 112, 1151-1154.

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Session Content

• Arson
• Definition Origin
• Incidence Prevalence
• Motives
• Pyromania
• Case Study