Numerous psychological disorders are uncommon but even so, psychologist are often required to deal with the cases by treating them or forming part of the team that deal with the cases such as pyromania disorder. “Pyromania is characterized by the deliberate and purposeful fire-setting on more than one occasion” (Schereiber, Odlaug, " Grant, 2011). This paper discusses pyromania disorder, its etiology, symptoms, prevalence, subtypes, related disorders, and treatment.
Etiology
While fire setting among children is usually out of curiosity about fire and the aspiration to know more about fire, pyromaniac is no just a simple fire setter. Pyromaniacs have an unusual wish and impulse to set fire intentionally. A study conducted in the United States on person above the age of 18, fire-setting among other things such as substance use and mood were evaluated and the outcome indicated that the United States had a 1 percent prevalence of fire-setting (Merrick, Bowling, " Omar, 2013). Fire setting is often liked to a number of antisocial behaviors. Some analysis have established a strong relationship between lifetime disorders from substance abuse such as alcohol and marijuana. Apart from that, pyromania has been associated with disorders including antisocial, conduct as well as obsessive-compulsive personality disorders. Some studies have linked the disorder to “family history and antisocial behavior” (Merrick, Bowling, " Omar, 2013).
Symptoms
From Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM) under DSM – 5, the disorder requires up to six criteria. Some of the criteria include a purposeful and or a deliberate setting of fire in at least more than one instance. Apart from that, it involves either tension or an effective arousal before setting the fire. Pyromaniacs fire setting actions are always planned (Palermo, 2015).
Prevalence
To date, the prevalence of the disorder is not properly established. However, according to a study conducted in 2010, the prevalence of the disorder was established at a rate of 1 percent within a college that involved a student sample of 791 (Schereiber, Odlaug, " Grant, 2011). Since the disorder is rare, very little research on it have been carried out and with few patients. In three separate studies on pyromania among 113 arsonists, 191 patients who were involved in setting fires in the past and another involving 27 fire setters all of whom were females showed that none of the had pyromania disorder (Johnson " Netherton, 2016).
Subtypes
Pyromaniac are clustered into five subtypes. First is the non-pure fire setters who have diverse motives for setting fire including profit and vengeance. The second includes persons with moderate scores in most of the characteristic which includes social skills, empathy as well as hostility and who have experience of abuse from the caregivers (Dalhuisen, Koenraadt " Liem 2017). The third cluster includes those with developmental challenges as well as psychological vulnerabilities. The fourth cluster or subtype is made up of those who have higher revenge and retribution. Finally, the fifth cluster has disordered persons and the psychotic firesetters.
Related Disorders
There are a number of disorders related to pyromania; they are referred to as impulse control disorders (ICDs). These disorders are formally listed under DSM – IV; they include kleptomania, pathological gambling among others. Kleptomania is marked by stealing of things that one does not need and is often not only repetitive but also uncontrollable (Schereiber, Odlaug, " Grant, 2011). Most of the time, the stolen goods are stockpiled, given to other people, moved back to the store or sometimes thrown away. Most people with the disorder have been arrested at some point in life due to the stealing behavior.
Pathological gambling is a disorder that is characterized by insistent and intermittent actions of gambling behavior (Schereiber, Odlaug, " Grant, 2011). People often start gambling in their adolescent years and most of the time continue with the behavior before it develops to something problematic. It is more prevalent in men compared to women. One of the key characteristic of the ICDs is the difficulty in battling the desire to do behaviors that extreme and at the same time harmful to others and themselves too. Apart from kleptomania and pathological gambling, other related disorders include intermittent explosive disorder and trichotillomania.
Treatment
Pyromania can be treated and among the treatments, options include cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), topiramate as well as valproic acid. Different patients require different treatment methods. In some patients, uncommon treatments such as lithium and antiepileptic medications have been recommended. However, CBT is the only treatment method that has shown some hope (Johnson " Netherton, 2016).
Conclusion
In brief, pyromania
is a disorder where one deliberately sets fire one more than one instance for various reasons. The behavior is associated with other disorders including those that arise from drug abuse and one’s family history with antisocial behavior. The symptoms include the criteria outlines in DSM-5. Currently, the prevalence of the disease is not well established due to very little research that have been done on the disorder. Other disorders related to the disorder include kleptomania and pathological gambling among others. It can be treated using CBT and others methods like the use of topiramate and valproic acid.
References
Dalhuisen, L., Koenraadt, F., " Liem, M. (2017). Subtypes of firesetters. Criminal Behaviour " Mental Health, 27(1), 59-75. doi:10.1002/cbm.1984
Johnson, S., " Netherton, E. (2016). Fire Setting and the Impulse-Control Disorder of Pyromania. American Journal of Psychiatry Resident's Journal, 14 - 16.
Merrick, J., Bowling, C. H., " Omar, H. A. (2013). Firesetting in Childhood and Adolescence. PMC.
Palermo, G. B. (2015). A Look at Firesetting, Arson, and Pyromania. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 683 - 684.
Schereiber, L., Odlaug, B. L., " Grant, J. E. (2011). Impulse Control Disorders: Updated Review of Clinical Characteristics and Pharmacological Management. PubMed.
