Firesetters Admitted to a Maximum Security Psychiatric Institution

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Abstract
The characteristics of 243 male arsonists in a maximum security psychiatric facility were examined. Demographic and psychosocial history variables of the arsonists were compared to those of 100 comparison patients admitted to the same institution for behavior other than firesetting. Discriminant analyses were used to determine how these two groups differed, as well as how arsonists who set just one fire differed from those known to have set more. DSM-III-R criteria for pyromania were examined, as was the role of sexual motivation. The results strongly supported the idea that pyromania and sexual motivation are uncommon in the clinical presentation of mentally disordered firesetters. Social competence and social isolation were much more important and potentially modifiable antecedents.

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