The Adapted Firesetting Assessment Scale: reliability and validity.
J Collins, P E Langdon, M Barnoux
PMID 35621252WHAT IT FOUND
A self-report scale for adults with intellectual disabilities or autism was stable over about two weeks and separated firesetters from non-firesetters on attitudes, normalisation and poor fire safety, though that subscale did not work well.
Key findings
01The scale's total scores were stable when people completed it again after about two weeks.
02Firesetters scored significantly higher than non-firesetters on attitudes towards fire, fire normalisation, poor fire safety and total scores, but not on fire interest or identification with fire.
03The full scale and most subscales had acceptable item consistency, but the poor fire safety subscale did not.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Only 59 adults were included, mostly from a small number of services in England, so results may not apply to all adults with developmental disabilities who set fires. The firesetter and non-firesetter groups were not matched; firesetters were younger and had more previous convictions. The interval between the two completions varied because of pandemic restrictions. The sample was too small for factor analysis, so the scale's underlying structure is not established. The poor fire safety subscale had very poor internal consistency, and item 18 did not discriminate groups. Some participants needed support to understand items, and some items were abstract or required perspective taking. Participants answered to a researcher rather than their usual clinician, so responses may not reflect how they would answer in service.
Declared interests
The study received no specific grant from funding agencies, and the authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not use the AFAS as a validated diagnostic tool for every adult with developmental disabilities. The poor fire safety subscale did not work well, and fire interest and identification with fire did not separate firesetters from non-firesetters.