Impulsivity, Aggression, and Psychopathic Deviation in a Sample of Iranian Adolescents and Young Adults: Gender Differences and Predictors

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships of impulsivity, aggression, and psychopathic deviation and to investigate the roles of age and gender on these constructs in an Iranian sample. The sample consisted of 165 adolescents and 156 young adults who were randomly selected from Shiraz, Iran. A demographic questionnaire and three inventories were used in this study. Impulsivity and its subscales were significantly positively correlated to psychopathy deviation in this sample. There was no significant effect of gender on these variables among adolescents and young adults. Altogether, cognitive impulsivity and verbal aggression explained 5% of variation in psychopathy deviation among this sample.

Keywords:

• impulsivity
• aggression
• psychopathy deviation
• adolescents
• young adults
• gender

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author is grateful to Dr. Maria Mercedes Ovejero Bruna, Complutense University, Spain, and Mr. William N. Myhill, MEd, JD, Director of Legal Research & Writing, Burton Blatt Institute, Syracuse University, New York, for their editing help in this article.