Correlational Study of Dark Tetrad, Unemployment and Mediating Factors in Incarcerated Women's Alexithmyia and Cognitive Distortions

This study explored the relationships among dark tetrad personality traits (psychopathy, narcissism, machiavellianism, sadism), alexithymia, and cognitive distortions in incarcerated women, focusing on the mediating role of unemployment. Using a quantitative, correlational design, data were collected from 80 women in Sheikhupura district jail with validated Urdu-translated self-report measures, including the Short Dark Tetrad, Toronto Alexithymia Scale, and Cognitive Distortion Scale. Statistical analyses conducted in IBM SPSS Statistics version 20 revealed significant positive correlations among dark tetrad traits, alexithymia, and cognitive distortions, indicating that women with higher manipulative and antisocial traits exhibit greater emotional dysregulation and distorted thinking. Mediation analyses showed that personal and husband’s unemployment partially mediated these relationships (p < .01). These findings support psychopathy theory’s focus on emotional deficits, cognitive distortion theory’s emphasis on maladaptive thinking, and feminist criminology’s attention to socioeconomic factors, highlighting unemployment as a critical influence on psychological maladaptation in incarcerated women.