TY - JOUR
T1 - Adults with intellectual disabilities and/or autism who deliberately set fires: A systematic review
AU - Collins, J.
AU - Barnoux, M.
AU - Langdon, P. E.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020
PY - 2021/1/1
Y1 - 2021/1/1
N2 - Fire setting behaviour has devastating consequences and a significant number of adults who set fires have intellectual disabilities and/or autism. However, there has been no comprehensive review of the characteristics and treatment needs of this group of offenders, with existing reviews being limited in terms of sample population and methodological rigour. The purpose of this review was to systematically examine and synthesise existing research to determine what is known about adults with intellectual disabilities and autism who set fires. PsychINFO, PsychARTICLES, Medline, CINAHL Plus with Full Text, Criminal Justice Abstracts, SCOPUS, Open Grey, and the University of Kent arson library were searched for articles. The methodological quality of studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Searches resulted in 100 articles that met the specific inclusion criteria. Findings indicated adults with intellectual disabilities and autism share some characteristics with other adults who set fires (e.g. aggression, impulsivity). They also face additional challenges, which may have implications for treatment and risk formulation (e.g. communication difficulties, lack of support). However, current research is generally of poor methodological quality, limiting our ability to understand the unique characteristics and treatment needs of this population.
AB - Fire setting behaviour has devastating consequences and a significant number of adults who set fires have intellectual disabilities and/or autism. However, there has been no comprehensive review of the characteristics and treatment needs of this group of offenders, with existing reviews being limited in terms of sample population and methodological rigour. The purpose of this review was to systematically examine and synthesise existing research to determine what is known about adults with intellectual disabilities and autism who set fires. PsychINFO, PsychARTICLES, Medline, CINAHL Plus with Full Text, Criminal Justice Abstracts, SCOPUS, Open Grey, and the University of Kent arson library were searched for articles. The methodological quality of studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Searches resulted in 100 articles that met the specific inclusion criteria. Findings indicated adults with intellectual disabilities and autism share some characteristics with other adults who set fires (e.g. aggression, impulsivity). They also face additional challenges, which may have implications for treatment and risk formulation (e.g. communication difficulties, lack of support). However, current research is generally of poor methodological quality, limiting our ability to understand the unique characteristics and treatment needs of this population.
KW - Arson
KW - Autism
KW - Developmental disabilities
KW - Firesetting
KW - Intellectual disabilities
KW - Learning disabilities
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85099038694&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.avb.2020.101545
DO - 10.1016/j.avb.2020.101545
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85099038694
VL - 56
JO - Aggression and Violent Behavior
JF - Aggression and Violent Behavior
SN - 1359-1789
M1 - 101545
ER -
