Citation

Hanson M, Mackay-Soroka S, Staley S, Poulton L. Can. J. Psychiatry 1994; 39(4): 230-232.

Affiliation

Family Court Clinic, Clark Institute of Psychiatry, Toronto, Ontario.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1994, Canadian Psychiatric Association, Publisher SAGE Publications)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8044730

Abstract

Twenty-five male delinquents (aged nine to 16) who had legal charges for setting fires filed against them were compared to a group of age and sex matched delinquents who had legal charges filed against them that were not related to firesetting. Groups were compared on demographic variables and on their delinquency and fire related histories. The only significant difference to emerge was a higher proportion of past firesetting in the group with fire-related charges. The present results indicate that a subgroup of antisocial recidivist firesetters exists among young offenders and underscore the importance of obtaining a thorough fire related history from youth who are before the court on fire related charges.