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Conspicuous Firesetting in Children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

James G. Strachan
James G. Strachan*
Affiliation:
Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Morningside Place, Edinburgh EH10 5HF, Scotland
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Summary

The records of 79 children whose firesetting led to referral to a Children's Hearing (the Scottish equivalent of a juvenile court) were examined. All but one of the children were boys. They had very disturbed backgrounds, with much family disruption and absent or unemployed fathers. Firesetting was predominantly a group activity and the damage caused was extensive. Although the children frequently engaged in other offences, in over 90 per cent there was no recurrence of reported firesetting within the limited period of possible follow-up.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 138 , Issue 1 , January 1981 , pp. 26 - 29
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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