Extinguishing the Fires Within: Treating Juvenile Firesetters (original) (raw)

Extinguishing-the-Fires-Within-Juvenile-Firesetters_Raines_Foy_1994.pdf

Children younger than 18 set approximately 60% of the incendiary fires in large cities. The authors review the history of psychological explanations for firesetting and examine the current research regarding this phenomenon. The authors also review treatment approaches for juvenile firesetters, including behavior modification, psychodynamic therapy, family approaches, cognitive therapy, and group work. Critical considerations for effective treatment, including bereavement and disfigurement, are presented. Clinical examples are provided throughout this article.

A conceptualization of firesetting in children and adolescents

Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 1986

Juvenile firesetting has been studied from different perspectives and by multiple disciplines. Although evidence has begun to emerge regarding the antecedents and correlates of firesetting as well as characteristics of firesetters and their families, the findings and their conceptual bases remain somewhat diffuse. This paper integrates major findings reported in the juvenile firesetting literature and provides a tentative model of

Juvenile Firesetting: An Exploratory Analysis

2000

This study had two primary purposes. First, this study assessed the psychometric properties of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) questionnaires used to record juvenile firesetting events (Fineman, 1997a, 1997b,1997c). Second, this study initiated preliminary analyses that (1) contributed to the identification of a typology of firesetters, (2) account for variance in the severity of fires set by juveniles, and (3) predicted the likelihood of recidivistic behaviors in juvenile firesetters. Predictors were restricted to a limited set of exploratory variables; including age, sex, delinquency, pathology, and social skills. However, individual characteristics (delinquency, social skills, and psychopathology) were better predictors of recidivism, the magnitude of fire damage and the typology of firesetter. Juvenile Firesetters: An Exploratory Analysis 6

Ten Facts about Youth Firesetting for Therapists

Family Therapy Magazine , 2017

Firesetting can be a dangerous and even deadly issue among youth. In the United States, males account for the majority of youth firesetting incidents (U.S. Fire Administration, 2012) encountered by fire and law enforcement officials. Typically, the onset of firesetting behavior occurs between the ages of 5 and 10 years old, which is a developmental period ripe with cognitive changes (Johnson, Beckenbach, & Kilbourne, 2013; Walsh & Lambie, 2013). The Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2014 National Report (Sickmund & 2014) estimated that approximately 40 percent of all suspects arrested for arson are younger than 18 years old. Because youth with learning, developmental, and behavioral disorders are at an elevated risk for firesetting, therapists are in a unique position to improve youth firesetting interventions and decrease the likelihood of this dangerous behavior. Highlighted are 10 important concepts you should consider about youth firesetting