Young arsonists: history of conduct disorder, psychiatric diagnoses and criminal recidivism

The distribution of psychiatric diagnoses and criminal recidivism of young male fire-setters was investigated. Ferry-five Finnish male fire-setters aged 15-21 years who were referred for a forensic psychiatric evaluation before their trials were studied for psychiatric diagnoses, the history of conduct disorder (CD) and registered criminal offences after an average period of seven years. Almost 65% of the offenders had a history of CD with aggressive features. Alcohol dependence was very common despite the young age of the sample. Criminal recidivism was associated with a history of CD, impulse control and personality disorders, and alcohol dependence. Fire-setting and criminal recidivism among young adult male subjects is usually associated with childhood-onset CD. Long prospective studies of CD boys are needed to get further information of the prognosis of young adult fire-setters. Possibly psychiatric treatment could be worth trying not only for schizophrenic but also for alcoholic and impulsive fire-setters.