Johnston Kendal, Tyler Nichola
School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.
Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science, Swinburne University of Technology, Alphington, VIC, Australia.
Psychiatr Psychol Law. 2024 Sep 1;32(5):700-721. doi: 10.1080/13218719.2024.2346720. eCollection 2025.
This study examines the prevalence of deliberate firesetting in an un-apprehended New Zealand sample and factors that differentiate firesetting and non-firesetting individuals. An anonymous online survey assessing demographic and background characteristics, history of firesetting and psychological characteristics was advertised on Facebook community groups and pinboards across New Zealand. A total of 626 adults completed the survey. One-hundred and three participants (16.45%) self-reported having deliberately set at least one fire over the age of 14 years. When controlling for all other variables in a logistic regression model, having a high-school qualification as the highest level of educational attainment (odds ratio, = 2.24), history of a mental health diagnosis ( = 1.91), fearful attachment style ( = 1.16) and fire interest ( = 1.05) showed the strongest unique association with un-apprehended firesetting. Further research is needed to examine the full range of behavioural and psychological characteristics associated with un-apprehended firesetting.
本研究调查了新西兰未被抓获的故意纵火者样本的患病率,以及区分纵火者和非纵火者的因素。在新西兰各地的脸书社区群组和布告栏上发布了一项匿名在线调查,评估人口统计学和背景特征、纵火史及心理特征。共有626名成年人完成了该调查。103名参与者(16.45%)自我报告在14岁以后至少故意纵火一次。在逻辑回归模型中对所有其他变量进行控制后,最高学历为高中(优势比=2.24)、有心理健康诊断史(=1.91)、恐惧依恋风格(=1.16)和对火感兴趣(=1.05)与未被抓获的纵火行为呈现出最强的独特关联。需要进一步研究来考察与未被抓获的纵火行为相关的全部行为和心理特征。