Enuresis, Firesetting, and Cruelty to Animals: Does the Ego Triad Show Predictive Validity?

Slavkin, Michael Lawrence

ABSTRACT

The hypothesis tested in this study was that the presence of enuresis and cruelty to animals in juvenile firesetters would be significantly related to recidivistic firesetting. This hypothesis was related to Yarnell's belief in an ego triad among juvenile firesetters, which linked the occurrence of enuresis, cruelty to animals and others, and firesetting. No relationship was found between groups for firesetting recidivism and enuresis. However, juveniles who were identified as being cruel to animals were more likely than those who were not cruel to animals to engage in recidivistic firesetting behaviors.

Each year, fires set by juveniles account for a large portion of fire-related public property damage and deaths. Fires set by children and adolescents are more likely than any other household disaster to result in death (National Fire Protection Association, 1999). In 1998, it was estimated that fires set by children and juveniles resulted in 6,215 American deaths, another 30,800 injuries, and billions of dollars in property damage (National Fire Protection Association, 1999). Despite the costs and impact of juvenile firesetting, it remains a little-studied area. The limited research that does exist is dominated by a psychodynamic perspective.

Examinations of the motivating forces behind juvenile firesetting have often relied on a psychoanalytic orientation (Kaufman, Heims, & Reiser, 1961; Lester, 1975; Rothstein, 1963; Yarnell, 1940). Those writings are largely based upon Freud's (1932) assertion that firesetting in youth is a regressive retreat to "primitive man's" desire to gain power and control over nature. Freud (1930) states: "In man's struggles to gain power over the tyranny of nature, his acquisition of power over fire was the most important. It is as if primitive man had had the impulse when he came in contact with fire, to gratify an infantile pleasure in respect of it and put it out with a stream of urine....Putting out fire by urinating... therefore represents a sexual act with a man, an enjoyment of masculine potency in homosexual rivalry. Whoever was the first to deny himself this pleasure and spare the fire was able to take it with him and break it into his own service. By curbing the fire of his own sexual passion he was able to ta ke fire as a force of nature.... It is remarkable how regular analytic findings testify to the close connection between the ideas of ambition, fire, and urethral eroticism" (p. 50). Freud's perception of the youthful firesetter has guided the firesetting literature, specifically that juvenile firesetting is an ego-oriented conflict.

In her seminal work on juvenile firesetters, Yarnell (1940) examined 60 young psychiatric patients at Bellevue Hospital in New York. Yarnell (1940) asserted that firesetting in juveniles is the result of (1) castration fears, (2) enuresis, and (3) the influence of the mother figure in the life of the child. Yarnell speculated that youths who set fires do so in order to gain power over adults. She emphasized the neglectful nature of the mother-son relationship. Yarnell also examined the juvenile firesetters' relationships with fathers as they related to professional issues, such as for children whose fathers were fire-fighting professionals. She supported Freud's views that juvenile firesetters have difficulty with enuresis and cruelty to animals and to others.

Yarnell proposed an ego triad among juvenile firesetters that linked the occurrence of enuresis, cruelty to animals and others, and firesetting in youth. The comorbidity of these behaviors and their predictive power in identifying adult criminal behavior have been verified in a number of studies (Lester, 1975; Prentky & Carter, 1984; Robbins & Robbins, 1967; Rothstein, 1963; Wax & Haddox, 1974).

It is not surprising that these three behaviors were identified simultaneously in juveniles who set fires; the studies that validated the triad used institutionalized samples. Moreover, these reports were based on case study reviews and data extrapolated from projective instruments (Kaufman et al., 1961; Lester, 1975; Macht & Mack, 1968; Quinsey, Chaplin, & Upfold, 1989; Rothstein, 1963).

Juvenile firesetters have been reported to be more likely than other groups of juveniles to display cruelty to children or animals, as well as to have difficulties with enuresis (Quinsey et al., 1989; Sakheim & Osborn, 1999; Sakheim, Osborn, & Abrams, 1991; Saunders & Awad, 1991), although the predictiveness of these factors is limited (Blumenberg, 1981; Heath, Gayton, & Hardesty, 1976; Showers & Pickrell, 1987). Justice, Justice, and Kraft (1974) questioned whether the ego triad is an adequate predictor of violent behavior in adulthood. They asserted that the ego triad largely has been found to occur simultaneously with factors that may be better predictors of violent adult behaviors.

In order to evaluate the predictive nature of the ego triad, the present study investigated whether the presence of enuresis and cruelty to animals in juvenile firesetters is related to recidivistic firesetting.

METHOD

Data Collection

Data collection took place during a scheduled three-hour interview between the fire professional, the juvenile firesetter, and the firesetter's parent/guardian following referral to the MCAIN (Marion County Arson Investigation Network) Fire Stop Program. The interview protocol followed the recommended format designed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Parents and youths were told that they were to engage in a brief discussion regarding firesetting behaviors. The youths and their parents were also required to complete written questionnaires as part of the program.

Each record in the MCAIN database includes demographic information, the nature of the firesetter's behaviors, the firesetting incident, and whether the individual received any counseling following the fire. Four primary pieces of information are included in each record: (a) narrative information from the fire-site interview, (b) the Family Fire Risk Interview Form (Fineman, 1997a), (c) the Juvenile Fire Risk Interview Form (Fineman, 1997b), and (d) the Parent Fire Risk Questionnaire (Fineman, 1997c).

Demographic information was obtained from the Family Fire Risk Interview Form (Fineman, 1997a), which was completed by the parent' guardian at the time of Fire Stop Program interview. Information included child's age, race, gender, level of education, school enrollment, number of siblings, parent's level of education, and parent's present job.

Participants

Records from 78 firesetters aged 3 to 6 years, 240 firesetters aged 7 to 10 years, 157 firesetters aged 11 to 14 years, and 413 firesetters aged 15 to 18 years who were referred to MCAIN for firesetting behaviors were analyzed. Many firesetters over the age of 12 years are referred for incarceration rather than psychoeducation, which may have limited the sampling of older juveniles. For the purposes of the study, the entire MCAIN database was used (firesetters in the MCAIN database range in age from 3 to 19 years).

Independent Variables

The presence of enuresis was identified using information taken from the Parent Fire Risk Questionnaire (Fineman, 1997c). Juveniles were identified as either having problems with enuresis or not having such problems. The presence of cruelty to animals was also identified using information taken from the Parent Fire Risk Questionnaire (Fineman, 1997c). Juveniles were identified as either having problems with cruel behavior toward animals or not. The presence of recidivistic firesetting behaviors was identified using information taken from the Juvenile Fire Risk Interview Form (Fineman, 1997b). Juveniles were identified as either having problems with recidivism or not.

RESULTS

No relationship was found between firesetting recidivism and the presence of enuresis, [chi square](1) = .16, p = .82. However, juveniles who were identified as being cruel to animals were more likely than those who were not cruel to animals to engage in recidivistic firesetting, [chi square](1) = 25.88, p = .001. When the ego triad was assessed using an analysis of variance (the presence of enuresis and cruelty to animals as relating to recidivistic behaviors), the two-way interaction was not statistically significant, F = 1.69, df= 1, p = .23. Interestingly, the level of enuresis in the firesetters was significantly higher than in a normative sample of juveniles, t = 6.41, p = .02 (Health Examination Survey Cycle III, 1978).

DISCUSSION

The hypothesis tested in this study was that the presence of enuresis and cruelty to animals in juvenile firesetters would be significantly related to recidivistic firesetting. This hypothesis emerged from Yarnell's belief that there is an ego triad among juvenile firesetters, which links the occurrence of enuresis, cruelty to animals and others, and firesetting in youth.

No differences were found in firesetting recidivism based on the presence of enuresis. However, juveniles who were identified as being cruel to animals were more likely than those who were not cruel to animals to engage in recidivistic firesetting behaviors. Further, the incidence of enuresis was elevated in the present sample when compared with a normative sample.

Although cruelty to animals seems to hold potential as a predictor of recidivistic firesetting, it is most likely an externalizing behavior that correlates highly with delinquency. Justice, Justice, and Kraft (1974) have asserted that the ego triad largely occurs simultaneously with factors that may be better predictors of violent adult behaviors.

While enuresis may not be an indicator of recidivistic firesetting, it would appear to be an effective marker of the problematic behaviors that are comorbid with firesetting in juveniles. In addition, the significant difference in enuresis between a normative population and the present sample is noteworthy.

Implications

It is interesting that fires set by juveniles account for a large portion of fire-related public property damage and deaths, but these crimes have received little attention both in the literature and in the press. Because of the costs and impact of juvenile firesetting, developmentalists and mental health professionals need to more thoroughly examine this behavior. Though efforts to understand and reduce firesetting are increasing, further research is needed, particularly from developmental perspectives that include individual as well as environmental factors, rather than from a psychodynamic/ego triad perspective.

An examination of the literature on firesetters shows that a variety of characteristics can define specific types of firesetters. Further, firesetting appears to differ as a result of both maturational and environmental factors. Future investigations should include an examination of the firesetter's history, such as prior learning experiences with fire, cognitive and behavioral development, and family influences and stressors.

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