Firesetting in childhood and adolescence: early sign of psychopathology?
This past week, police officers in Florida arrested an 18-year-old kid as prime suspect in a wave of cat killings and mutilations. The killing and torturing of animals for pleasure (excluding traditional hunting) is one of the strongest signs of serious psychopathology. Firesetting is likely a close second, with most adults and adolescents who engage in arson also have a history of childhood firesetting. But until now, most studies have not been able to accurately examine what type of firesetting is predictive of later problems? For example, some children who engage in firesetting do not engage in arson or have serious psychopathology. So what are the characteristics (severity, duration, etc) that are associated with such ‘transitional’ or ‘phase’ firesetting versus a firesetting behavior that is more chronic and potentially pathological?
In an upcoming issue of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry a team of researchers from the University of Toronto in Canada conducted a large epidemiological examination of firesetting among 3,965 Canadian children and adolescents in grades 7 to 12. The authors examined the correlates of 4 types of firesetters:
- No history of fire setting
- Desisters: History of firesetting but none during the past year
- Low frequency (1-2 during past year)
- High frequency (3+ times during the past year)
The authors then examined the following variables:
- sex
- age
- school level
- grades
- is family intact?
- welfare involvement?
- difficulty with peers
- daily smoking
- binge drinking
- cannabis use
- other illicit drug use
- delinquent behaviors
- Ritalin use
- high sensation seeking personality
- psychological distress
- suicidal ideation
The Results:
- 72% of the sample had either never engaged in fire setting (32%) or had engaged sometime during their lives but not during the past year (40.5%)
- 27% reported engaging in firesetting during the past 12 months.
- When compared to those with no history of firesetting, the “desisters” were were more likely to be male, older, smokers, cannabis users, high sensation seekers, and have high levels of psychological distress.
- When compared to those with no history of firesetting, the high frequency fire setters were more likely to be male, have low parental monitoring, be binge drinkers, cannabis users, illicit drug users, have a history of delinquent behaviors, be sensation seeking, have high levels of psychological distress, and have suicidal ideation. This profile was almost identical to the profile of low frequency firesetters.
While controlling for other variables:
One way to conceptualize these findings is to examine the factors that predicted high/low frequency firesetters but die no predict ‘desisters’. For example, low parental monitoring was associated with low/high frequency firesetters but not with desisters. This suggests that low parental monitor is a risk factor in more chronic firesetting behaviors and that parental monitoring may not have an impact on isolated events of firesetting that do not become chronic. Cannabis was associated with all groups, so it’s not that informative. This is not surprising given that cannabis use is very frequent among teens. However, other illicit drug use was associated with frequent fire setting only, likely reflecting the severity of behavior problems among these teens. This is supported by the finding that only the low and high frequency fire setters, and not the desisters, were more likely to have a history of delinquent behaviors.
The Reference: MacKay, S., Paglia-Boak, A., Henderson, J., Marton, P., & Adlaf, E. (2009). Epidemiology of firesetting in adolescents: mental health and substance use correlates Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2009.02103.x
Thank you for subscribing to the RSS feed of Child-Psych.org. Please visit our website to join the conversation.
Firesetting in childhood and adolescence: early sign of psychopathology?
This past week, police officers in Florida arrested an 18-year-old kid as prime suspect in a wave of cat killings and mutilations. The killing and torturing of animals for pleasure (excluding traditional hunting) is one of the strongest signs of serious psychopathology. Firesetting is likely a close second, with most adults and adolescents who engage in arson also have a history of childhood firesetting. But until now, most studies have not been able to accurately examine what type of firesetting is predictive of later problems? For example, some children who engage in firesetting do not engage in arson or have serious psychopathology. So what are the characteristics (severity, duration, etc) that are associated with such ‘transitional’ or ‘phase’ firesetting versus a firesetting behavior that is more chronic and potentially pathological?
In an upcoming issue of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry a team of researchers from the University of Toronto in Canada conducted a large epidemiological examination of firesetting among 3,965 Canadian children and adolescents in grades 7 to 12. The authors examined the correlates of 4 types of firesetters:
- No history of fire setting
- Desisters: History of firesetting but none during the past year
- Low frequency (1-2 during past year)
- High frequency (3+ times during the past year)
The authors then examined the following variables:
- sex
- age
- school level
- grades
- is family intact?
- welfare involvement?
- difficulty with peers
- daily smoking
- binge drinking
- cannabis use
- other illicit drug use
- delinquent behaviors
- Ritalin use
- high sensation seeking personality
- psychological distress
- suicidal ideation
The Results:
- 72% of the sample had either never engaged in fire setting (32%) or had engaged sometime during their lives but not during the past year (40.5%)
- 27% reported engaging in firesetting during the past 12 months.
- When compared to those with no history of firesetting, the “desisters” were were more likely to be male, older, smokers, cannabis users, high sensation seekers, and have high levels of psychological distress.
- When compared to those with no history of firesetting, the high frequency fire setters were more likely to be male, have low parental monitoring, be binge drinkers, cannabis users, illicit drug users, have a history of delinquent behaviors, be sensation seeking, have high levels of psychological distress, and have suicidal ideation. This profile was almost identical to the profile of low frequency firesetters.
While controlling for other variables:
One way to conceptualize these findings is to examine the factors that predicted high/low frequency firesetters but die no predict ‘desisters’. For example, low parental monitoring was associated with low/high frequency firesetters but not with desisters. This suggests that low parental monitor is a risk factor in more chronic firesetting behaviors and that parental monitoring may not have an impact on isolated events of firesetting that do not become chronic. Cannabis was associated with all groups, so it’s not that informative. This is not surprising given that cannabis use is very frequent among teens. However, other illicit drug use was associated with frequent fire setting only, likely reflecting the severity of behavior problems among these teens. This is supported by the finding that only the low and high frequency fire setters, and not the desisters, were more likely to have a history of delinquent behaviors.
The Reference: MacKay, S., Paglia-Boak, A., Henderson, J., Marton, P., & Adlaf, E. (2009). Epidemiology of firesetting in adolescents: mental health and substance use correlates Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2009.02103.x
Thank you for subscribing to the RSS feed of Child-Psych.org. Please visit our website to join the conversation.
To the Finish
My writing style is fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants, ie: pantser (with a hint of plotter on the side). I have over forty works in progress on the go, and I work on ten or more at a time. When an idea comes to me it usually pops into my head as a chunk, a scene, and I scramble to jot it all down, and eventually a whole story is the result. I know it is possible to concentrate on just one story, to focus and hold off on the barrage of ideas when I have to, and I try to narrow the pile down to just one main story so I can hand it in to a publisher. Most often what happens is I get ¾s of the way done and a new story emerges, most often forcing its way to the top of the wip pile.
If I had a sports commentator broadcasting my writing like it was a horse race or the 500 meter dash it might sound something like this…
Good day spectators. As you will see our Works In Progress are lined up at the starting line. The tension is high, the deadlines impending. All eyes are on the Ménage a Trois, the anticipated winner of this heat, the one said to be next in the submissions pile. Next in line is long standing erotic novella with a reputation for being a little on the deviant side. Not to be outdone is newcomer to the process, a spanking story whose length is still a mystery. And last but not least a handful of paranormals of the furry and fanged kind. Many racers are entered in this competition with high hopes to make it across the finish line.
Here’s the flagman stepping onto the track. The racers adjust for final preparations, brainstorm their stanzas, and… there’s the gun! They’re off.
As expected the menage takes the lead, with erotic novella a close second and spanking story pulling in close behind. It’s a tight race for all those watching. Who knows which way the author will go? Creative licence has a strong presence out there today.
An unexpected contender coming up from the rear, erotic novella, gets a second wind, hip checks the Ménage a Trois out of the way and passes with ease. Not to be outdone, Menage a Trois, throws its all at the author in hopes to regain the lead, flooding the author’s mind with images of nature, adventure, and kinky sex in the great outdoors.
Untitled Short Story stumbles, slows down, but doesn’t flag the paramedic just yet. Working Title One and Working Title Two shove each other for the spot light – if there’s ever been a more true form of poor sportsmanship this author hasn’t seen it. A headache develops on the horizon, all creativity comes to a halt as the author reaches for another hit of espresso.
Now it’s Menage a Trois and Erotic Novella in the lead, neck and neck. Boy, it’s going to be a close one. But what’s this? An anthology submission, a mere fragment of an idea from years gone by, sparked into life? Anthology Submission pins on a number, stretches, jogs in one spot, then blows a kiss to the crowd. A cheeky little item, can this late contender pull it off?
Unbelievable! Anthology Submission is unstoppable, passing Untitled Short Story, Working Title One and now Working Title Two. It’s closing in on Menage a trios and Erotic Novella, and its passing them.
There’s the finish line, the query, the word count, the crowd go wild. Anthology Submission breaks through the printer ribbon with a satisfied smile.
Copyright
