Motivations of fire-setters with neurodevelopment disorders
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Motivations of Firesetting behaviour within a population with neurodevelopment disorders.
IRAS ID
344853
Contact name
Hauwa Onifade
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Nottingham
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 18 days
Research summary
To date there have been limited research around the motivations of fire setters with neurodevelopmental disorders. There have been six research articles to date (Murphy & Clare, 1996; Alexander et al., 2015; Rose, Lees-Warley, & Thrift, 2015; Campbell, 2016; Holst, Lystrup, & Taylor, 2019; Long, Fitzgerald, & Hollin, 2015) that have studied firesetting behaviours and neurodevelopmental disorders. Of these seven, only one has specifically looked at the motivations of firesetting behaviour within this population (Murphy & Clare, 1996). From the research by Murphy and Clare (1996), it was identified that the common motivations of firesetting, amongst males with mild learning disabilities were feelings of anger, not listened to, sad, bored. Their findings suggest that the firesetting behaviour was utilised as a possible means to communicate and express emotions. However, this research can be considered dated now. The research by Murphy and Clare also only specifically looked at individuals with mild learning disabilities and does not encompass the other neurodevelopmental disorders such as Autism and ADHD. The other research have looked at experiences, clinical characteristics and past experiences and how that may have impacted the decision to set fires. The current research aims to examine motivations of firesetting behaviour by individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders.
There is a lack of research around the topic of motivations of firesetting within a population with neurodevelopmental disorders. The current study aims to identify firesetting motivations by individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders to inform future development of firesetting interventions to be facilitated with this population, and to allow for a more individualised and effective intervention across the male and female neurodiverse wards.
Research Questions
Research question 1: What are the motivations of fire setters, that have been diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disorder?Rationale
If it is identified that there is a difference in motivations, within a neurodiverse population, and between males and females, this can inform a development of a firesetting intervention that addresses the specific needs of this population.
Data collection methods: The current study will aim to use semi-structured interviews, similar to the interview schedule used in research by Rose, Lees-Warley and Thrift (2015). Four extra questions have been added to the interview schedule to examine antecedents, which were identified from the question themes in the St Andrew’s Fire and Arson Risk Instrument (SAFARI; Long et al., (2013) .See interview schedule in appendix B. The information collected from the interviews will be transcribed and analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis.REC name
East Midlands - Leicester Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/EM/0157
Date of REC Opinion
11 Jul 2024
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion