["Legal and Criminological Psychology, EarlyView. ", "\nAbstract\n\nPurpose\nIn the context of scarcity and life history theories, the current research examined impulsivity in females with violent and non‐violent offences, considering the internal mechanisms through which resource scarcity may affect impulsivity.\n\n\nMethods\nConducted in a prison for women in China, this study surveyed 405 women with offences (190 with violent offences).\n\n\nResults\nIndependent sample t‐test results showed that females with violent offences demonstrated higher impulsivity (p < .01). A bootstrap analysis indicated that resource scarcity statistically predicted impulsivity, with mediating effects of scarcity mindset and life history strategy, and a chain mediating effect.\n\n\nConclusion\nFor females with violent offences, resource scarcity related to higher impulsivity, possibly shaping a scarcity mindset and an accelerated life history strategy as underlying psychological mechanisms.\n\n"]