Characterizing the criminal behavior and psychosocial features of female rural arsonists

A disproportionate amount of research on criminal behavior focuses on male offenders, as compared to female offenders. Nonetheless, taking arson in consideration, female arsonists have contributed to an increase in the prevalence of this criminal act. The setting of the fire is also an understudied variable, particularly when it involves hundreds of acres of rural land. This study examines the sociodemographic, psychosocial, and criminal behavioral characteristics of rural female arsonists and employs a typology to describe the differences between them. Eighty-eight Portuguese criminal records of rural female arsonists arrested between 1995 and 2020 were analyzed and clustered using the algorithm k-modes. Findings indicate that rural female arsonists experience difficulties integrating into their communities, report psychiatric histories and have no criminal history prior to arrest. Their motives for setting the crime are primarily attention-seeking and anger. Most are not intoxicated at the time of the crime. Furthermore, the characteristics of these rural female arsonists diverge into three groups: Without Mental Disorders or Psychopathology, Psychiatric History, and Alcohol Misuse. Similarities and differences between rural female arsonists and previous studies of female arsonists suggest that further research is needed to clarify the importance of distinguishing offender characteristics by setting.