Juvenile Firesetting: An Exploratory Analysis

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.