Unravelling the mind of young adult offenders: mediating role of impulsivity in relationship between psychopathy and criminal thinking

The increased crime rate in Pakistan can largely be attributed to criminal thinking, which encompasses the thought content and processes of offenders. Psychopathy, a disposition characterized by lack of empathy, emotional awareness, and impulsivity, is a vital risk factor for deviance and violent offending among young offenders. The present study aims to investigate mediating role of impulsivity between the relationship of Psychopathy and Criminal Thinking in Young Adult Offenders. The sample comprised 126 male offenders who were convicted and imprisoned for a criminal case, with the age range of 19-30 years (M = 25.74, SD = 3.15) were taken from Prisons in Pakistan. Findings revealed that there were positive associations between psychopathy, impulsivity, and various criminal thinking styles. Results indicated that impulsivity mediated the relationship between psychopathy and power orientation, criminal rationalization, entitlement, and cold-heartedness criminal thinking styles. It was concluded that psychopathic tendencies and impulsivity of offenders determined major cognitive processes in trying to control the environment, developing justifications to masquerade real motive behind a crime, feeling above the law, and an absence or concern of others. This mediation model highlights an explanatory mechanism for assessment of dispositional as well as cognitive processes to aid in the prevention of crime in future. The findings of this study have important implications for the development of interventions that include psychopathy and impulsivity as mechanisms for reducing violent behaviour in this population.