Aggression and psychopathology in childhood firesetters: Parent and child reports.

Abstract

The present study compared hospitalized children identified as firesetters (n = 31) or nonfiresetters (n = 32) on several dimensions of aggressiveness and psychopathology. The study permitted separation of the influence of firesetting from a diagnosis of conduct disorder in contributing to the symptoms evinced by the children. Across all diagnoses, firesetters were found to engage in more delinquent and antisocial behaviors than nonfiresetters. Firesetters also evinced social skills deficits and a broad range of aggressive behaviors beyond their primary symptom. These results were obtained even when analyses were restricted to children who were diagnosed as conduct disorder. The findings elaborate on the clinical picture of firesetting children and suggest that firesetting may emerge late in a sequence of antisocial symptoms involving more extreme overt and covert acts.Research on the assessment and treatment of children who set fires has been conducted since the 1940s (Heath, Gayton, & Hardesty, 1976). Several case reports and large-scale studies have suggested that firesetting children exhibit a diverse range of behavioral and emotional problems, including stealing, lying, property destruction, school underachievement and truancy, fighting, and limited guilt

Domains of risk in the developmental continuity of fire setting

“…Endorsement on any one of the measurement items at each time period was considered a sufficient basis for classification as a fire setter during that period. Although such a grouping heuristic is less detailed than using interviews such as the Fire-setting Risk Interview, a precedent has been set for using such either/or criteria (e.g., Kolko et al, 1985Kolko et al, , 2001), and parent-child correspondence between reports of fire setting has been found to have moderate to high correlations (Kolko & Kazdin, 1988). The four comparison groups included non-fire setters (had not set a fire at T1 or T2; n = 299), desisters (fire setting indicated at T1 but not T2; n = 27), later-onset firesetters (fire setting indicated only at T2; n = 18), and persisters (fire setting indicated at both Tt and T2; n = 17).…”

“…In the last 20 years, three general domains have emerged for risk factors associated with fire setting: characteristics of the child, aspects of parenting, and the broader family climate. Among the (Gruber, Heck, & Mintzer, 1981;Jacobson, 1985;Sakheim & Osborn, 1999;Showers & Pickrell, 1987), having higher impulsivity or traits of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (Geller, 1992;Sakheim & Osborn, 1986), having social skill deficits and poor peer relations (Kolko, Kazdin, & Meyer, 1985;Sakheim & Osborn, 1999;Sakheim, Osborn, & Abrams, 1991;Sakheim, Vigdor, Gordon, & Helprin, 1985), displaying other conduct problems or antisocial behavior (Heath, Hardesty, Goldfine, & Walker, 1985;Showers & Pickrell, 1987), or having been abused (Jayaprakash, Jung, & Panitch, 1984;Ritvo, Shanok, & Lewis, 1982;Showers & Pickrell, 1987). Parenting factors that have been empirically linked to firesetting behavior include harsh (Jayaprakash et al, 1984) or lax (Kolko & Kazdin, 1990) discipline, lack of parental involvement (Kolko & Kazdin, 1990), less parental acceptance of the child (Kolko & Kazdin, 1990), and limited monitoring and supervision (Kazdin & Kolko, 1986;Kolko & Kazdin, 1990;Sakheim & Osborn, 1999).…”

Clinical Dysfunction and Psychosocial Interventions: The Interplay of Research, Methods, and Conceptualization of Challenges

“…David Kolko led another program of research on firesetting and match play among inpatient children on the unit I was directing. This led to several studies on the characteristics of individuals who engaged in firesetting or match play (e.g., Kolko & Kazdin 1988, Kolko et al 1985. Finally, another program, directed by Cynthia Last, focused on child anxiety disorders.…”

Funcionamento diferencial de itens para avaliar a agressividade de universitários

“…Embora as pessoas apresentem uma grande variedade em seus níveis de agressividade, a agressão extrema tem sido incluída no domínio da psicopatologia, seja por si mesma ou associada a outras patologias (Huesmann, Eron, Lefkowitz, & Walder, 1984;Jozef, Greenhalgh, Leite, & Ferreira, 2000;Kolko, Kazdin, & Meyer, 1985).…”