Pathological Firesetters

FIRESETTING CHARACTERISTICS 1 Male Imprisoned Firesetters Have

Objective: This study investigated whether a group of firesetters (n = 68) could be distinguished, psychologically, from a matched group of non-firesetting offenders (n = 68). Method: Participants completed measures examining psychological variables relating to fire, emotional/ self-regulation, social competency, self-concept, boredom proneness, and impression management. Official prison record...

Mentally Disordered Firesetters Running Head: MENTALLY DISORDERED FIRESETTERS Explanations of Firesetting in Mentally Disordered Offenders: A Review of the Literature

This paper reviews current explanations of firesetting in adult mentally disordered offenders. In particular attention is given to contemporary research that has examined the developmental and background characteristics, personality and associated traits, motivation for firesetting, neurobiological explanations, psychiatric diagnoses and frequency of self injurious behaviour; including suicide....

A study of sixteen adolescent and pre-adolescent firesetters /

RUNNING HEAD: THE OFFENCE PROCESS OF ADULT MALE FIRESETTERS A Descriptive Model of the Offence Chain for Imprisoned Adult Male Firesetters (DMAF)

Purpose: Firesetting has devastating consequences. Although some theoretical efforts have been made to explain firesetting (i.e., a small number of multiand single-factor theories), little effort has been devoted to understand how deliberate firesetting unfolds across time (i.e., micro or offence chain theories). This research aimed to produce the first descriptive offence chain theory for inca...

Pathological Altruism and Pathological Regulation

A concept recently developed by scholars in psychology and biology is “pathological altruism.” (Oakley 2013, Oakley et al. 2012). A pathological altruist is defined as “a person who sincerely engages in what he or she intends to be altruistic acts, but who harms the very person or group he or she is trying to help, often in unanticipated fashion; or harms others; or irrationally becomes a victi...