Citation

Stewart MA, Culver KW. Br. J. Psychiatry 1982; 140: 357-363.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1982, Royal College of Psychiatry)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

7093611

Abstract

The study concerns 46 children who had set at least one fire and had been admitted to a psychiatric ward. Their firesetting behaviour has been related to variables such as age, IQ, and psychiatric disorder in parents, and to the distinction between children who present with firesetting as their chief problem and those in whom it is a secondary complaint. Thirty subjects were followed up after one to five years. Seven, all boys and all less than 13 years old, were still setting fires, but these were less serious than the ones set before treatment. The persistent firesetters may have come from less stable homes and they tended to be more antisocial at follow-up than children who no longer set fires.