Review of the records of 191 nongeriatric state hospital inpatients
showed that 50 (26%) of the patients had engaged in some form of fire-
setting behavior; half of this group had engaged in a single episode. As a
group, persons who had engaged in fire-setting behavior were significantly
more likely to have a history of nonlethal self-injurious behavior and had
a significantly greater number of admissions to the state hospital. The
data suggest that fire setting by any patient cannot be accurately
predicted and that fire-setting behavior may be an example of destructive
operant behavior.Abstract Teaser