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Characteristics of fire-setters. A study and proposed multiaxial psychiatric classification
B K Puri1, R Baxter, C C Cordess
1Department of Psychiatry, Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School, London.
Background:
The study set out to review the relationship between mental disorder and fire-setting.
Method:
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.
Results:
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.
Conclusion:
On the basis of this study, a multiaxial classification system of fire-setting is proposed.