ABSTRACT

Progress has been made in the psychological study of arson and firesetting but existing research is predominantly offence-focussed, meaning that the nuances of humans’ relationship with fire have not been fully captured. This study explored the fire – fire user relationship from the perspective of an incarcerated sample. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 adults with arson convictions and/or a record of institutional firesetting. Data analysis was based on the principles of grounded theory. Three themes were identified, underpinning participants’ life-long psychological relationship with fire, namely: 1) Immediate Gratification, 2) Self-Concept, and 3) Self-Preservation. This study is the first to explore the lifelong fire – fire user relationship. Implications are discussed, most notably in relation to how findings could inform youth firesetting prevention initiatives.

摘要

纵火和纵火的心理学研究取得了进展，但现有的研究主要以犯罪为重点，这意味着尚未完全捕捉到人类与火灾关系的细微差别。本研究从一个被监禁的样本的角度探讨了火与火用户的关系。对 12 名有纵火罪和/或有机构纵火记录的成年人进行了半结构化访谈。数据分析基于扎根理论的原则。确定了三个主题，支撑参与者与火的终生心理关系，即：1) 即时满足，2) 自我概念，和 3) 自我保护。本研究首次探讨了终身火——火用户的关系。影响进行了讨论，