AUSTIN, Texas -- Female arsonists have a psychiatric profile that's distinct from both male arsonists and female non-arsonist offenders, and clinicians should work to develop appropriate coping strategies for them, researchers said here.
Although studies have been done on arsonists who are men, few have been done on those who are women, Alick Wang and colleagues, of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, said in a poster presentation at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. Only one review, published in 2010, has been done on the topic.
Women make up only a small percentage of arsonists, said Wang, a fourth-year medical student at McMaster University. "It's hard to know the true number, but in most studies [the ratio of males to females] is somewhere between 5 to 1 and 10 to 1."
To find out more about this particular population, the researchers conducted a systematic review of existing studies published from 2010 to 2018 using the Medline, Web of Science, and PsycINFO electronic databases. For the search, the investigators used the words "fire-setting," "pyromania," "pyromaniac," and "arson," as well as "female," "woman," "women," "gender," and "sex" in the title or keywords. A total of seven studies were selected, including three retrospective studies, three case control studies and a national survey.
The 2010 systematic review found that the studies showed several differences between men and women who commit arson. Women had a greater prevalence of sexual abuse, and a higher prevalence of depression and psychosis. They also had an absence of sexual fetishism associated with fire. As to reasons for arson, female arsonists had a prevalence of attention-seeking or "cry for help" motivations; unlike their male counterparts, they weren't interested in seeing firefighting activities or displaying firefighting skills, nor did they set fires to conceal crimes or for profit.
The seven studies in the review from Wang's group found a higher prevalence of depression, substance misuse, bipolar disorder, drug and alcohol dependence, and various personality disorders among female arsonists compared to males. One study also found a higher incidence of certain anti-social behaviors, such as cutting class, reckless driving, using weapons, animal abuse, and shoplifting, while another found a higher incidence of childhood maltreatment, setting fires at home, running away, and gang involvement. Some of those same characteristics -- including alcohol and drug dependence and bipolar disorder -- also distinguished female arsonists from non-arsonist female offenders.
"Female arsonists are a unique patient population, distinct from both male arsonists and non-arsonist female offenders," the researchers concluded. Although there has been some evolution in understanding this population, "risk management strategies that fit female arsonist profiles need to be implemented to help them develop better coping strategies, and to avoid dramatic outcomes for them and community members."
"The most important thing is to recognize how little we know about [this group], but there are differences and we need to study them more so we can better treat female arsonists," Wang told MedPage Today.
Stephen Herman, MD, a child and adult forensic psychiatrist practicing in New York City and Scottsdale, Arizona, said the research was an important contribution because it calls attention to the fact that not all arsonists are men, but that it leaves several questions unanswered.
"The problem is that this is a clinical population, so by definition these are people who have already come into psychiatry" and are not representative of a normal population, said Herman, who was not involved with the study.
"The other issue is that when you look at people who have had a lot of the same issues with psychopathology, most are not arsonists," he explained, noting that the factors identified are not predictive of this behavior. "You may have girls who have been abused, or sexually abused, or arrested for juvenile delinquency, and most don't go on to become fire-setters."