Child pyromaniac
Encyclopedia
A child pyromaniac is a child
with an impulse-control disorder that is primarily distinguished by a compulsion to set fires
in order to relieve built-up tension.
The term pyromania comes from the Greek
words pyr (fire
) and mania (madness
). A child pyromaniac is the most rare form of fire setting.
Most young children are not diagnosed as having pyromania but rather conduct disorder
s. A key feature of pyromania
is repeated association with fire but without a real motive. Pyromania is a very rare disorder and only occurs in about one percent of the population. It can occur in children as young as three years old.
About ninety percent of the people officially diagnosed with pyromania are male. Pyromaniacs and people with other mental illnesses are responsible for only about 14% of fires.
It seems like it is a combination of pyromania and bad behavior that initiates fire setting. Fire setting among children and teens can be recurring or periodic. Some children and teens may set fires often to release tension.
But then there are others that may only seek to set fires during times of great stress. Some of the symptoms of pyromania are depression, conflicts in relationships, and poor ability to cope with stress and anxiety.
, also known as the DSM, gives six standards that must be met for a child to be officially diagnosed with pyromania.
Even though fire setting and pyromania are more prevalent in children these standards are hard to apply to their age group. There is not a lot of experience in diagnosing pyromania mainly because of the little experience that health care professionals have with fire setting.
Whereas a child fire-setter is usually curious about fire and has the desire to learn more about fire, a child pyromaniac is more than just a simple fire-setter; he is one who has an unusually bizarre impulse or desire to set intentional fires.
Pathological fire-setting, pyromania
, is when the desire to set fires is repetitive and destructive to people or property. The most important difference between pyromania and fire-setting is that pyromania is a mental disorder, but fire-setting is simply a behavior and can be more easily fixed.
Minor or nonsevere fire-setting is defined as “accidental or occasional fire-starting behavior” by unsupervised children. Usually these fires are started when a curious child plays with matches, lighters, or small fires. Juveniles in this minor group average at most 2.5 accidental fires in their lifetime.
Most children in this group are between five and ten years of age and don't realize the dangers of playing with fire.
Pathological fire-setting, known as pyromania, manifests when the action is “a deliberate, planned, and persistent behavior.” Juveniles in this severe group set about 5.3 fires.
Most young children are not diagnosed as having pyromania but conduct disorders.
s. The first type is the curiosity fire setter who starts the fire just to find out what will happen. The second type is the problem fire setter who usually sets fires based on changes in his environment or because of a pathological reason.
Child pyromaniacs are usually filled with an uncontrollable urge to set fires to relieve tension. Not much is known about what genetically causes pyromania but there have been many studies that have explored the topic.
The causes of fire setting among young children and youths can be attributed to many factors, which are divided into individual factors, and environmental factors:
Individual Factors:
Environmental Factors:
There has also been some medical research done that suggests a link to reactive hypoglycemia in the cerebrospinal fluid. Some of the similarities that have been discovered between the two are abnormalities in levels of neurotransmitters norepinephrine and serotonin, which refer to problems in impulse control, and low blood sugars.
The first crucial step for treatment should be parents sitting down with their child and having a one-on-one interview. The interview itself should try to determine what stresses on the family, methods of discipline, and other factors contribute to the child's uncontrollable desire to set fires. Some examples of treatment methods are problem-solving skills, anger management, communication skills, Aggression Replacement Training
, and cognitive restructuring.
The chances that a child will recover from pyromania are very slim according to recent studies but there are ways to channel the child's desire to set fires to relieve tension. When a child diagnosed with pyromania feels the compulsion to start fire if the parents have suggested alternate ideas such as playing a sport or an instrument there is a chance that a child can learn how to gain a thin grasp on his irresistible urge to set fires.
Another method of treatment is fire-safety education. But sometimes the best method of treatment is child counseling or a residential treatment center
.
However, since cases of child pyromania are so rare there has not been enough research done on how successful these treatment methods really are in helping these children. The most common and effective treatment of pyromania in children is behavioral modification. The results usually range from fair to poor. Behavioral modification seems to work on children with pyromaniac tendencies about 95% of the time.
. Around 1850, there were many arguments about the causes of pyromania.
The two biggest sides of the argument were whether pyromania comes from a mental or genetic disorder or moral deficiency. Freud reasoned that fire setting was an archaic desire to gain power over nature.
The first study done on fire setting behavior in children was in 1940 and was credited to Helen Yarnall who found that the compared fire setting to fears of castration in male children and said that by setting the fire the young males feel that they have gained power over adults. This 1940 study also introduced the idea that a good predictor of violent behavior like fire setting in adult life is fire setting and cruelty towards animals as a child.
Child
Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
with an impulse-control disorder that is primarily distinguished by a compulsion to set fires
Pyromania
Pyromania in more extreme circumstances can be an impulse control disorder to deliberately start fires to relieve tension or for gratification or relief. The term pyromania comes from the Greek word πῦρ . Pyromania and pyromaniacs are distinct from arson, the pursuit of personal, monetary or...
in order to relieve built-up tension.
The term pyromania comes from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
words pyr (fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
) and mania (madness
Insanity
Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
). A child pyromaniac is the most rare form of fire setting.
Most young children are not diagnosed as having pyromania but rather conduct disorder
Conduct disorder
Conduct disorder is psychological disorder diagnosed in childhood that presents itself through a repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior in which the basic rights of others or major age-appropriate norms are violated...
s. A key feature of pyromania
Pyromania
Pyromania in more extreme circumstances can be an impulse control disorder to deliberately start fires to relieve tension or for gratification or relief. The term pyromania comes from the Greek word πῦρ . Pyromania and pyromaniacs are distinct from arson, the pursuit of personal, monetary or...
is repeated association with fire but without a real motive. Pyromania is a very rare disorder and only occurs in about one percent of the population. It can occur in children as young as three years old.
About ninety percent of the people officially diagnosed with pyromania are male. Pyromaniacs and people with other mental illnesses are responsible for only about 14% of fires.
Symptoms
Many clinical studies have found that fire setting rarely occurs by itself but usually occurs with other societally unacceptable behavior. The motives that have recently earned the most attention are pleasure, a cry for help, retaliation against adults, and desire to reunite the family.It seems like it is a combination of pyromania and bad behavior that initiates fire setting. Fire setting among children and teens can be recurring or periodic. Some children and teens may set fires often to release tension.
But then there are others that may only seek to set fires during times of great stress. Some of the symptoms of pyromania are depression, conflicts in relationships, and poor ability to cope with stress and anxiety.
Diagnosis
The clinician's handbook, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental DisordersDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is published by the American Psychiatric Association and provides a common language and standard criteria for the classification of mental disorders...
, also known as the DSM, gives six standards that must be met for a child to be officially diagnosed with pyromania.
- The child had to have set more than one fire deliberately.
- Before setting the fire, the child must have felt some feelings of tension or arousal
- The child must show that he is attracted to fire and anything related to fire
- The child must feel a sense of relief or satisfaction from setting the fire and witnessing it
- The child does not have other motives like revenge, financial motives, delusions or brain damage for setting the fire
- This fire setting problem cannot be attributed to other disorders like anti-social personality disorder or conduct disorders.
Even though fire setting and pyromania are more prevalent in children these standards are hard to apply to their age group. There is not a lot of experience in diagnosing pyromania mainly because of the little experience that health care professionals have with fire setting.
Child pyromaniacs vs. child fire-setters
There are many important distinctions between a child pyromaniac and a child fire-setter. In general, a fire-setter is any individual who feels the impulse to set a fire for unusual reasons.Whereas a child fire-setter is usually curious about fire and has the desire to learn more about fire, a child pyromaniac is more than just a simple fire-setter; he is one who has an unusually bizarre impulse or desire to set intentional fires.
Pathological fire-setting, pyromania
Pyromania
Pyromania in more extreme circumstances can be an impulse control disorder to deliberately start fires to relieve tension or for gratification or relief. The term pyromania comes from the Greek word πῦρ . Pyromania and pyromaniacs are distinct from arson, the pursuit of personal, monetary or...
, is when the desire to set fires is repetitive and destructive to people or property. The most important difference between pyromania and fire-setting is that pyromania is a mental disorder, but fire-setting is simply a behavior and can be more easily fixed.
Minor or nonsevere fire-setting is defined as “accidental or occasional fire-starting behavior” by unsupervised children. Usually these fires are started when a curious child plays with matches, lighters, or small fires. Juveniles in this minor group average at most 2.5 accidental fires in their lifetime.
Most children in this group are between five and ten years of age and don't realize the dangers of playing with fire.
Pathological fire-setting, known as pyromania, manifests when the action is “a deliberate, planned, and persistent behavior.” Juveniles in this severe group set about 5.3 fires.
Most young children are not diagnosed as having pyromania but conduct disorders.
Epidemiology
There are two basic types of children that start fireFire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
s. The first type is the curiosity fire setter who starts the fire just to find out what will happen. The second type is the problem fire setter who usually sets fires based on changes in his environment or because of a pathological reason.
Causes
Fire-setting is made up of five subcategories: the curious fire-setter, the sexually motivated fire-setter, the "cry for help" fire-setter, "severely disturbed" group, and the rare form of pyromania. Pyromania usually surfaces in childhood, but there is no conclusive data about the normal age of onset.Child pyromaniacs are usually filled with an uncontrollable urge to set fires to relieve tension. Not much is known about what genetically causes pyromania but there have been many studies that have explored the topic.
The causes of fire setting among young children and youths can be attributed to many factors, which are divided into individual factors, and environmental factors:
Individual Factors:
- Antisocial behaviors and attitudes: Children that set fires usually don't only set fires but also commit other crimes or offenses including vandalism, violence, anger, etc.
- Sensation seeking: Some children are attracted to fire setting because they are bored and just looking for something to do.
- Attention seekingAttention seekingEnjoying the attention of others is quite socially acceptable. In some instances, however, the need for attention can lead to difficulties. The term attention seeking is generally reserved for such situations where excessive and "inappropriate attention seeking" is seen.-Styles:The following...
: Lighting a fire becomes a way to get back at the adults and in turn to produce a response from the adults - Lack of social skills: Some children simply have not been taught enough social skills. Many of the children and adolescents that have been discovered setting fires consider themselves to be "loners"
- Lack of fire-safety skills and ignorance of their danger: For most children not diagnosed with pyromania this is what drives them. Just natural curiosity and ignorance of the fire's destructive power.
- Learning problems
- Parental Problems like separation, neglectNeglectNeglect is a passive form of abuse in which a perpetrator is responsible to provide care for a victim who is unable to care for himself or herself, but fails to provide adequate care....
, and abuseAbuseAbuse is the improper usage or treatment for a bad purpose, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, sexual assault, violation, rape, unjust practices; wrongful practice or custom; offense; crime, or otherwise...
Environmental Factors:
- Poor supervision by parents or guardians.
- Watching adults using fire inappropriately at an early age
- Parental neglect
- Parents abusing drugs or acting violently: This factor has been studied and the conclusions show that fire setters are more likely in homes where the parents abuse them
- Peer pressurePeer pressurePeer pressure refers to the influence exerted by a peer group in encouraging a person to change his or her attitudes, values, or behavior in order to conform to group norms. Social groups affected include membership groups, when the individual is "formally" a member , or a social clique...
- Stressful Life Events: Fire setting becomes a way to cope with crises
There has also been some medical research done that suggests a link to reactive hypoglycemia in the cerebrospinal fluid. Some of the similarities that have been discovered between the two are abnormalities in levels of neurotransmitters norepinephrine and serotonin, which refer to problems in impulse control, and low blood sugars.
Treatment
If a child is diagnosed with pyromania there are treatment options even though there has not been enough scientific research on the genetic cause of pyromania especially in such a young age. Studies have shown that children with repeat cases of setting fires tend to respond better to a case-management approach rather than a medical approach.The first crucial step for treatment should be parents sitting down with their child and having a one-on-one interview. The interview itself should try to determine what stresses on the family, methods of discipline, and other factors contribute to the child's uncontrollable desire to set fires. Some examples of treatment methods are problem-solving skills, anger management, communication skills, Aggression Replacement Training
Aggression Replacement Training
Aggression Replacement Training is cognitive behavioral intervention focused on adolescents, training them to cope with their aggressive and violent behaviors. It is a multimodal program that has three components; Social skills, Anger Control Training and Moral Reasoning...
, and cognitive restructuring.
The chances that a child will recover from pyromania are very slim according to recent studies but there are ways to channel the child's desire to set fires to relieve tension. When a child diagnosed with pyromania feels the compulsion to start fire if the parents have suggested alternate ideas such as playing a sport or an instrument there is a chance that a child can learn how to gain a thin grasp on his irresistible urge to set fires.
Another method of treatment is fire-safety education. But sometimes the best method of treatment is child counseling or a residential treatment center
Residential treatment center
A residential treatment center , sometimes called a rehab, is a live-in health care facility providing therapy for substance abuse, mental illness, or other behavioral problems...
.
However, since cases of child pyromania are so rare there has not been enough research done on how successful these treatment methods really are in helping these children. The most common and effective treatment of pyromania in children is behavioral modification. The results usually range from fair to poor. Behavioral modification seems to work on children with pyromaniac tendencies about 95% of the time.
History
Early studies into the causes of pyromania come from Freudian psychoanalysisPsychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
. Around 1850, there were many arguments about the causes of pyromania.
The two biggest sides of the argument were whether pyromania comes from a mental or genetic disorder or moral deficiency. Freud reasoned that fire setting was an archaic desire to gain power over nature.
The first study done on fire setting behavior in children was in 1940 and was credited to Helen Yarnall who found that the compared fire setting to fears of castration in male children and said that by setting the fire the young males feel that they have gained power over adults. This 1940 study also introduced the idea that a good predictor of violent behavior like fire setting in adult life is fire setting and cruelty towards animals as a child.