@article{ref1,
title="Psychiatric aspects of arsonists",
journal="Journal of forensic sciences",
year="1999",
author="Ritchie, Elspeth Cameron and Huff, T. G.",
volume="44",
number="4",
pages="733-740",
abstract="Arson is a major source of property damage, injury and death in the United States. Many people who commit arson have extensive psychiatric histories and symptoms at the time of their fire-setting. However, traditionally the law enforcement community and the mental health community have not shared information about the characteristics of people who set fires. This study examined mental health records and/or prison files from 283 arsonists. 90% of arsonists had recorded mental health histories, and of those 36% had the major mental illness of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. 64% were abusing alcohol or drugs at the time of their firesetting. Pyromania was only diagnosed in three of the 283 cases. Different motives for setting fires are discussed; many patients were both angry and delusional. A survey instrument, which captures both psychiatric and legal data, is included. Suggestions are made for gathering future &quot;profiling&quot; information. A matrix approach to coding diagnosis and behavior is presented.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0022-1198",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}