Pyromania

Pyromania is an intense obsession with fire, explosives, and their related effects. It is also an obsession with starting fires in an intentional fashion. An individual ex. with pyromania is referred to as a pyromaniac or "pyro" for short. In colloquial English, the synonyms "firebug" and "firestarter" are sometimes used. Pyromaniacs are identified specifically as not having any other symptoms but obsession with fire causing their behavior. It is distinct from arson, and pyromaniacs are also distinct from those who start fires because of psychoses, for personal, monetary or political gain, or for acts of revenge. Pyromaniacs start fires to induce euphoria, and often tend to fixate on institutions of fire control like fire stations and firefighters.

History

Starting in 1850, there have been many arguments as to the cause of pyromania. Whether the condition arises from mental illness or moral deficiency has changed depending on the development of psychiatry and mental healthcare in general.

Etiology

Little is known about this impulse control disorder, except some research suggesting there is an environmental component arising in late childhood. Few scientifically rigorous studies have been done on the subject, but psychosocial hypotheses suggest pyromania may be a form of communication from those with few social skills, or an ungratified sexuality for which setting fires is a symbolic solution. Medical research also suggests a possible link to reactive hypoglycemia or a decreased concentration of 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in the cerebrospinal fluid. Some biological similarities have been discovered, such as abnormalities in the levels of the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and serotonin, which could be related to problems of impulse control, and also low blood sugar levels.

The earliest studies in this field were based on Freud’s hypothesis that firesetting represented a regression to a primitive desire to demonstrate power over nature. Other researchers used Freud's notion that fire has a special symbolic relationship to the male sexual urge to explain the fact that pyromania is predominantly a male disorder. A study done in 1940 attributed firesetting to fears of castration in young males, and theorized that adolescents who set fires do so to gain power over adults. The 1940 study also introduced the notion of an "ego triad" or (the MacDonald Triad). of firesetting, enuresis(bed-wetting), and cruelty to animals as a predictor of violent behavior in adult life. Later studies have found that a combination of firesetting and cruelty to animals is a significant predictor of violent behavior in adult life, but that the third member of the triad (bed-wetting) is not. the MacDonald triad after a researcher who popularized it in the 60s) who believed that three childhood behaviors were associated with it: (1) bedwetting; (2) firestarting, or fascination with fire; and (3) cruelty to animals. Again in 1963, a researcher named MacDonald said that these three behaviors in childhood were warning signs for the tendency to become a serial killer: bedwetting beyond the age when it normally stops being a problem, firestarting involving the thrill of just destroying things, and cruelty to animals involving such things as pulling the legs off of spiders, or occasionally hurting larger animals, like dogs and cats, frequently for solitary enjoyment or to impress peers. It should be noted that the validity of the MacDonald triad has been called into question by a number of researchers.

Other researchers have also found that children who are pyromaniacs often have a history of cruelty to animals. They also frequently suffer from other behavior disorders and have learning disabilities and attention disorders. Other studies have linked pyromania to child abuse. Pyromania is rare in adults and more common in childhood and adolescence. Following are a list of individual and environmental causes of pyromania in children and adolescents:

Individual causes

• Antisocial behaviors and attitudes. Adolescent firesetters have often committed other crimes, including forcible rape (11%), nonviolent sexual offenses (18%), and vandalism of property (19%).
• Sensation seeking. Some youths are attracted to firesetting out of boredom and a lack of other forms of recreation.
• Attention seeking. Firesetting becomes a way of provoking reactions from parents and other authorities.
• Lack of social skills. Many youths arrested for firesetting are described by others as "loners" and rarely have significant friendships.
• Lack of fire-safety skills and ignorance of the dangers associated with firesetting.

Environmental causes

• Poor supervision on the part of parents and other significant adults.
• Early learning experiences of watching adults use fire carelessly or inapproriately.
• Parental neglect or emotional uninvolvement.
• Parental psychopathology. Firesetters are significantly more likely to have been physically or sexually abused than children of similar economic or geographic backgrounds. They are also more likely to have witnessed their parents abusing drugs or acting violently.
• Peer pressure. Having peers who smoke or play with fire is a risk factor for a child's setting fires himself.
• Stressful life events. Some children and adolescents resort to firesetting as a way of coping with crises in their lives and/or limited family support for dealing with crises.

Symptoms and diagnosis

Pyromaniacs are known to have feelings of sadness and loneliness, followed by rage, which leads to the setting of fires as an outlet.For a positive diagnosis, there must be purposeful setting of fire on at least two occasions. There is tension or arousal prior to the act, and gratification or relief when it is over. It is done for its own sake, and not for any other motivation. In some cases it is all about the pleasure of seeing what other people have to do to extinguish the fire, and the pyromaniac may enjoy reading of the effects of what they have done. Many arsonists claim that they just like to set fires for the sake of fires and the blaze of dancing flames. Many pyromaniacs feel a relief of stress in watching things burn or smolder, and the condition is fueled by the need to watch objects burn.

Other symptoms that may accompany firesetting include depressed mood, thoughts of suicide, repeated conflicts in interpersonal relationships, and poor ability to cope with stress.

Incidence and demographics

Pyromania is a very rare disorder, and the incident of it is less than one percent in most studies; also, pyromaniacs are a very small proportion of psychiatric hospital admissions. Pyromania can occur in children as young as age three, but it is rare in adults and rarer in children. Only a small percentage of children and adolescents arrested for arson have pyromania. Ninety percent of those diagnosed with Pyromania are male. Based on a survey of 9282 Americans using the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual on Mental Disorders, 4th edition, impulse-control problems such as gambling and pyromania affect 9% of the population. And a 1979 study by the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration found that only 14 percent of fires were started by pyromaniacs and others with mental illness.

Treatment

Behavior modification is the usual treatment for pyromania. Other treatments include seeing the patients actions as an unconscious process and analyzing it to help the patient get rid of the behavior. Often, this treatment is followed by a more psychodynamic approach that addresses the underlying problems that generated the negative emotions causing the mania. The prognosis for treatment is generally fair to poor. Treatment appears to work in 95% of children that exhibit signs of pyromania, which include family therapy and community intervention. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are also used to treat this condition. Studies have also shown there are therepuetic benefits associated with playing out the mania in a simulated environment.

Pyrophilia

Pyrophilia is a relatively uncommon condition in which the patient derives gratification from fire and fire-starting activity. It is distinguished from pyromania by the gratification being of a sexual nature.

Some described cases of pyrophilia do not include behaviors commonly associated with pyromania, such as being a regular “watcher” at fires in his neighbourhood; setting off false alarms; deriving pleasure from institutions, equipment, and personnel associated with fire, spending time at the local fire station, setting fires in order to be affiliated with the fire department; and either showing indifference to the consequences to life and property caused by the fire or deriving satisfaction from the resulting destruction of property. Sexual gratification need not involve actual fire; arousal or masturbatory aids may include fantasies or talk of setting a fire. In other instances, the patient may derive arousal primarily from setting or watching his fire.

Pyrophilia has been diagnosed in very few instances, and is not fully accepted by the general psychological community.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Balachandra, K. and Swaminath, Sam (2002). Fire Fetishism in a Female Arsonist?. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 47 (5). in Letters to the Editor.
• Litman, Larry C. (February 1999). A case of pyrophilia. CPA Bulletin: 18–20.
• (1987). Fire fetishism, diagnostic and clinical implications: A review of two cases. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 32 (6): 459–462.
• Williams, J. (2002). Pyromania, kleptomania, and other impulse-control disorders. Diseases and people. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow. ISBN 0766018997 ISBN 9780766018990.

External links

• Medical Examination of Pyromania
• University of Minnesota Impulse Control Disorders Clinic Provides useful information and resources for patients and their families, including free questionnaire-based rating scales that patients can use to assess and track the severity of their condition.
• Pyromania Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders Retrieved August 18, 2007.

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