O'Sullivan G H, Kelleher M J
St Anne's Hospital, Shanakiel, Cork, Ireland.
Br J Psychiatry. 1987 Dec;151:818-23. doi: 10.1192/bjp.151.6.818.
A survey of 54 firesetters who had been in hospital or prison was conducted. The results confirmed earlier findings on several aspects, such as male predominance, unstable childhood and proclivity to self-injurious behaviour. Revenge emerged as the commonest motive overall and an association with alcohol was found. Only 11% of the fire-raising episodes, whether among hospital or prison groups, were truly trivial. Arsonists in prison and hospital had many features in common and generally were quite psychologically disturbed, which contrasted with those who set fires for profit. A poor outcome was found, with continuing self-harm and a high suicide rate. Our findings suggest that arson recidivism arises in at least 35% of arsonists.
对54名曾住院或入狱的纵火者进行了一项调查。结果在几个方面证实了早期的研究发现，比如男性占主导、童年不稳定以及有自我伤害行为倾向。报复成为最常见的总体动机，并且发现与酒精有关联。无论是在医院组还是监狱组，只有11%的纵火事件确实微不足道。监狱和医院里的纵火者有许多共同特征，总体上心理相当紊乱，这与为获利而纵火的人形成对比。结果发现情况不佳，存在持续的自我伤害行为且自杀率很高。我们的研究结果表明，至少35%的纵火者会再次纵火。
