Pyromania

This chapter plots the history of pyromania in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Pyromania, as defined in DSM-5 is rarely diagnosed and is under-researched in both adults and children. As a result it is challenging to provide accurate estimates of the prevalence of pyromania in childhood, or to provide empirically supported descriptions of the etiology, developmental course, or symptomology of the disorder. In this chapter we synthesise the current research findings on childhood pyromania based on empirical research that explicitly refers to pyromania as defined by the DSM-III or later. We comment extensively on the limitations of this empirical literature. The chapter concludes by highlighting the need for further research on pyromania in both children and adults. This future research should focus on the validity of DSM diagnostic criteria for pyromania in addition to a focus on prevalence, etiology, developmental course, comorbidity, etc