EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PSYCHOPATHY AND CRIMINAL THINKING AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN PESHAWAR, THE MEDIATING ROLE OF IMPULSIVITY

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17309581

Abstract

This study interrogates the intricate interplay between psychopathy, impulsivity and criminal cognitions within an undergraduate population. Psychopathy, characterized by affective detachment, manipulativeness and antisocial proclivities has been consistently implicated in criminogenic cognition, yet the underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Impulsivity, a multifaceted construct encompassing cognitive, motoric and non-planning dimensions is posited as a pivotal mediator in this nexus. Employing a correlational, cross-sectional design, data were obtained from 200 randomly selected BS-level students (aged 19-24) across multiple higher education institutions in Peshawar. Measures included the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale, Texas Christian University Criminal Thinking Scale and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-Brief. Analysis conducted via SPSS version 22, encompassed Pearson correlation, mediation modeling and multiple regression. Results revealed a robust positive association between psychopathic traits and criminal cognitions. Mediation analysis indicated that impulsivity partially accounted for this relationship, with both psychopathy and impulsivity emerging as a significant predictor of criminogenic cognition, jointly explaining 72.5% pf variance. Practically, the study underscores the imperative for early screening and targeted interventions focusing on self-regulation skills to mitigate criminal ideation in at-risk student populations. Future research should incorporate longitudinal and multi-model approaches to further unravel the temporal and causal dynamics of these interventions