Fire setting; an impulse-control disorder consisting of deliberate and purposeful fire setting on more than one occasion. As in other disorders of impulse control, an increasing sense of tension or affective arousal immediately precedes the action, and its completion brings a sense of intense pleasure, gratification, or relief.
Morbid compulsion to set fires; an impulse disorder.
An uncontrollable urge or desire to start fires.
Uncontrollable urge to set fires.
An abnormal, compulsive desire to start fires. The fires are not set for economic gain, such as collecting on an insurance policy, or for reasons of revenge. Rather, the person experiences a buildup of tension that is released when the fire is set. Often he or she remains in the area of the fire to watch it burn. A person with pyromania usually has a low or borderline IQ (intelligence quotient) and chronic stress. The prevalence of alcoholism is higher among people with pyromania than among the general population. Typically this disorder begins in childhood, and it sometimes leads people to seek work as firefighters. Since they have a compulsion to repeatedly set fires, they may endanger the family or community. Psychiatric evaluation and treatment are needed.
An excessively strong impulse to set things on fire.
A powerful urge in a person to set things on fire. Affected individuals, more commonly males, are called pyromaniacs. They usually have a history of fascination with fire since childhood and obtain pleasure or relief of tension from causing fires. Treatment is difficult and pyromaniacs commonly end up in the courts.
Fire madness; a mania for setting fires or seeing them.
An enduring urge to initiate fires. This tendency is more commonly observed in males and might be linked to factors such as a lower IQ, alcohol misuse, and a psychosexual disorder.
An uncontrollable, repetitive urge to ignite objects and structures.