How common is pyromania?

Pyromania is an impulse control disorder affecting less than 1% of the U.S. population.

Pyromania is a rare diagnosis, even among first-time and recidivist arsonists. Setting fires for sexual arousal is even rarer. The overall prevalence of pyromania in adult populations is unknown, although three to six percent of psychiatric inpatients have been reported to meet the diagnostic criteria.

Pyromania can occur in children as young as age three, though such cases are rare. Only a small percentage of children and teenagers arrested for arson are child pyromaniacs. A preponderance of the individuals are male; one source states that ninety percent of those diagnosed with pyromania are male.

1. Setting a fire deliberately and on purpose on more than one occasion.
2. Feeling tense or energetic before starting a fire.
3. Being drawn to and obsessed with fire and everything about it.

While there isn’t a cure for pyromania, individuals can work with their doctors to help treat the disorder’s symptoms. Cognitive behavioral therapy can be effective, as well as, or in addition to, medications such as: antidepressants, anxiolytics, antiepileptic medications, or atypical antipsychotics.

The exact cause of pyromania isn’t yet known. Similar to other mental health conditions, it may be related to certain imbalances of brain chemicals, stressors, or genetics. Starting fires in general, without a diagnosis of pyromania, can have numerous causes.

A fire-setter or a pyromaniac could be a psychotic, a psychopath, or a psychoneurotic. Most are probably the last, psychoneurotic. Many, however, are not. It is important to know how to distinguish among the three types of disorders.

Findings revealed that most serial arsonists were young white males; 58.7 percent of fires were set by offenders before 18 years of age, and 79.7 percent were set before 29 years of age.

People with antisocial personality disorder – often referred to as psychopaths – are more prone to destructive behavior, including arson, she said.

Motives for a firefighter committing arson vary, ranging from the need for excitement or thrill to the wish to conceal a crime. An excitement-based motive would suggest that the firefighter wanted to be viewed as a hero.

Someone who loves to set fires — and, for whatever reason, can’t stop setting them — is a pyromaniac. … This is different from an arsonist, who sets fires for money. Pyromaniacs just set fires because they want to and feel a compulsion to. Pyromania is a sickness.

Pyromania is a serious mental health condition characterized by intentionally and repetitively setting fires—and doing so compulsively. People with pyromania feel unable to stop the behavior. Setting a fire releases inner tension or anxiety and gives the person a rush of pleasure or relief. 1.

Kleptomania is an irresistible urge to steal. It is believed to be caused by genetics, neurotransmitter abnormalities and the presence of other psychiatric conditions. The problem may be linked to a brain chemical known as serotonin, which regulates the moods and emotions of an individual.

The DSM-5 defines pyromania as requiring the following criteria: Deliberate and purposeful fire setting on more than one occasion. Tension or affective arousal before the act. Fascination with, interest in, curiosity about, or attraction to fire and its situational contexts (e.g., paraphernalia, uses, consequences).

Revenge-motivated arsonists feel as if they need to retaliate to gain satisfaction. Such arsons can be divided into personal revenge and societal, institutional, and group retaliation, according to the United States Fire Association, a federal agency that provides fire data and fire education and research.

90% of arsonists had recorded mental health histories, and of those 36% had the major mental illness of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. 64% were abusing alcohol or drugs at the time of their firesetting. Pyromania was only diagnosed in three of the 283 cases.

Types of arson motives identified are (1) pyromania, 10.1 percent; (2) revenge, 52.9 percent; (3) vandalism, 12.3 percent; (4) insurance fraud, 6.55 percent; (5) welfare fraud, 6.55 percent; (6) the psycho firesetter, 8.7 percent; and (7) crime concealment, 2.9 percent.

The most frequently found disorder among arsonists is an antisocial personality disorder. Antisocial individuals often engage in a range of criminal behaviors including fire-setting as well as other destructive acts.

Arsonists tend to be minimally educated and an underachievers. He or she generally has poor interpersonal relationships and is socially inadequate. Often he or she is unemployed and if the arsonist has an employment history it is erratic and involves little or no skill. Have a history of substance abuse.

Nationwide, there were 13.3 arson offenses for every 100,000 inhabitants.

Most people love to feel fire’s warmth, to test its limits, and to watch the way it consumes fuel. … Fire has been crucial to human survival for around one million years, and in that time, Fessler argues, humans have evolved psychological mechanisms specifically dedicated to controlling it.

an uncontrollable desire to buy things.

lover. noun. someone who is in a loving or sexual relationship with another person.

Sometimes, a child may steal as a show of bravery to friends, or to give presents to family or friends or to be more accepted by peers. Children may also steal because they might not want to depend on anyone, so they take what they feel they need.

Kleptomania is considered uncommon. However, some people with kleptomania may never seek treatment, or they’re simply jailed after repeated thefts, so some cases of kleptomania may never be diagnosed.

Though kleptomania is a legitimate mental health condition recognized by the medical establishment, it cannot be used as a legal criminal defense. In other words, an individual is fully responsible for their stealing activity and can be prosecuted despite a diagnosis of kleptomania.