Pyromania is defined as a pattern of deliberate setting of fires for pleasure or satisfaction derived from the relief of tension experienced before the fire-setting. The name of the disorder comes from two Greek words that mean "fire" and "loss of reason" or "madness." The clinician's handbook, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , also known as the DSM, classifies pyromania as a disorder of impulse control, meaning that a person diagnosed with pyromania fails to resist the impulsive desire to set fires—as opposed to the organized planning of an arsonist or terrorist. The position of the impulse-control disorders as a group within the DSM-IV-TR ( DSM, fourth edition, text revised) diagnostic framework, however, has been questioned by some psychiatrists. The differential diagnosis of pyromania and the other five disorders listed under the heading of impulse-control problems ( intermittent explosive disorder , kleptomania , pathological gambling, trichotillomania , and impulse-control disorder not otherwise specified) includes antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), mood disorders, conduct disorders (among younger patients), and temporal lobe epilepsy. It is not clear whether the impulse-control disorders derive from the same set of causes as ASPD and mood disorders, or whether "impulse-control disorder" is simply an all-inclusive category for disorders that are otherwise difficult to classify. Some American researchers would prefer to categorize pyromania and the other disorders of impulsivity as a subset of the obsessive-compulsive spectrum. In addition, the relationship between pyromania in adults and firesetting among children and adolescents is not well defined as of 2002. Although pyromania is considered to be a rare disorder in adults, repeated firesetting at the adolescent level is a growing social and economic problem that poses major risks to the health and safety of other people and the protection of their property. In the United States, fires set by children and adolescents are more likely to result in someone's death than any other type of household disaster. The National Fire Protection Association stated that for 1998, fires set by juveniles caused 6,215 deaths, 30,800 injuries, and $11 billion in property damage. It is significant that some European psychiatrists question the DSM-IV-TR definition of pyromania as a disorder of impulse control precisely because of the connection they find between adolescent firesetting and similar behavior in adults. One team of German researchers remarked, "Repeated firesetting, resulting from being fascinated by fire, etc., may be less a disturbance of impulse control but rather the manifestation of a psychoinfantilism, which, supported by alcohol abuse, extends into older age." Pyromania is considered a relatively rare impulse-control disorder in the adult population in North America. Description Firesetting in children and adolescents Although most cases of firesetting in the United States involve children or adolescents rather than adults, the DSM-IV-TR criteria for pyromania are difficult to apply to this population. Most younger firesetters are diagnosed as having conduct disorders rather than pyromania as DSM-IV-TR defines it; significantly, most of the psychiatric literature dealing with this age group speaks of "firesetting" rather than using the term "pyromania" itself. Some observers have attempted to classify children and adolescents who set fires as either pathological or nonpathological. Youngsters in the former group are motivated primarily by curiosity and the desire to experiment with fire; some are teenagers playing "scientist." Most are between five and 10 years of age, and do not understand the dangers of playing with fire. Few of them have major psychological problems. Those who are considered to be pathological firesetters have been further subdivided into five categories, which are not mutually exclusive: Firesetting as a cry for help. Youngsters in this category set fires as a way of calling attention to an intrapsychic problem such as depression, or an interpersonal problem, including parental separation and divorce or physical and sexual abuse. Delinquent firesetters. Firesetters in this category are most likely to be between the ages of 11 and 15. Their firesetting is part of a larger pattern of aggression, and may include vandalism and hate crimes. They are, however, more likely to damage property with their firesetting than to injure people. Severely disturbed firesetters. These youths are often diagnosed as either psychotic or paranoid, and appear to be reinforced by the sensory aspects of fire setting. Some set fires as part of suicide attempts. Cognitively impaired firesetters. This group includes youngsters whose impulse control is damaged by a neurological or medical condition such as fetal alcohol syndrome. Sociocultural firesetters. Youngsters in this group are influenced by antisocial adults in their community, and set fires in order to win their approval. Pyromania in adults Pyromania in adults resembles the other disorders of impulse control in having a high rate of comorbidity with other disorders, including substance abuse disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety disorders, and mood disorders. As of 2002, however, few rigorously controlled studies using strict diagnostic criteria have been done on adult patients diagnosed with pyromania or other impulse-control disorders. Read more: www.minddisorders.com/Py-Z/Pyromania.html#ixzz3dih1iOoW