性格行徵及過去與火有關係經驗對縱火行為的影響

The Influence of Personality Characteristics and Fire-Related Experiences on Arson Behavior

鑑於國內外尙缺乏對縱火犯罪者的性格特徵，以及其過去與火有關經驗影響的研究，故從事本研究探討之。本研究假設：縱火犯較之非縱火犯具有較強的敵意、自卑與不滿性格，缺乏社會支持與連繫特質，具有較多與火有關的經驗，以及對火持較正向的態度。以問卷做為調查工具，研究對象包括台灣地區各監獄裡的縱火罪受刑人一百六十五位，以及做為對照組的非縱火罪受刑人四百六十五位。結果顯示：上述假述大致得到支持。本研究並對於縱火慣犯的性格、過去經驗的影響、研究量表的信度、縱火犯的矯治、未來的研究方向等提出建議與討論。

The crime of arson has been of great concern to the public in recent years, but there has been little empirical research in the characteristics of arsonists and their past experiences in fire. The study hypothesized that arsonists were significantly higher in hostile personality, inferiority, lack of social support and association, more experiences in fire, and positive attitude toward fire than non-arsonists. Questionnaire has been adopted as research tool. The subjects included 165 arson inmates and 465 non-arson inmates in Taiwan's prisons. The results suggested that the hypotheses are generally supported. The characteristics of arson recidivists, influence of past experiences in fire, reliability of scales, treatment of arsonists, and direction of future research were discussed.