Characteristics of fire-setters. A study and proposed multiaxial psychiatric classification.

Abstract

The study set out to review the relationship between mental disorder and fire-setting. Sociodemographic, psychiatric, and medical data were retrospectively obtained from case notes of a group of 36 fire-setters referred to the North West Thames Forensic Psychiatry Service over a four-year period. Of the sample, 28% were female and one-third had no mental illness; 28% had a previous medical history of possible relevance. Psychoactive substance abuse was common. There was a significant disturbance of interpersonal relationships. Eighty-five per cent lived alone, and 44% of the female fire-setters had a history of sexual abuse. On the basis of this study, a multiaxial classification system of fire-setting is proposed.