Did you know that people living in the Western region of the United States are more likely to become victims of a serial killer than people living in the Northeast?

• PDF: Full Study

The February issue of Homicide Studies, published by SAGE, is the first to explore research looking at the considerable interstate and regional differences in serial killer activity.

The study led by University of Connecticut Emeritus Sociology Professor James DeFronzo examined male serial killers in the United States from 1970 to 1992 using sociological perspectives long used to understand other crimes.

According to a press release, the study found that social structural factors, such as the percentage of a state's urban population, divorced residents, one-person households and unemployed residents, all helped to explain why some states and regions are home to more male serial killers.

The study also found that cultural factors, such as a high ratio of executions to homicides and classification as a southern state, correlated with a higher rate of serial killers.

"Experts traditionally have used psychiatric analyses to understand male serial killer activity, but that approach has not been able to explain the considerable geographic differences that exist with serial killings," said DeFronzo, who led a team of researchers from UConn, Northeastern University, Villanova University and Massey University.

"This appears to be the first study to show that both cultural and social structural factors play a role," he said.

The article said that females have more diverse motives for serial murders, but that a large majority of male serial killers are sexually motivated. It said that about 10 percent appear to suffer from other disorders, like extreme forms of paranoid schizophrenia.

The article said that some biological factors are thought to characterize serial murderers, such as damage to the prefrontal cortex of the brain. The prefrontal cortex is thought to control emotion emotional impulses, the article said.

Besides the issue of brain damage, the article said that a large majority of male serial killers are psychopathic sexual sadists. The study said that an antisocial personality disorder is often related to the relative absence of the capacity to feel guilty.

To see state rankings and to read the full article, "Male Serial Homicide: The Influence of Cultural and Structural Variables" published in the February 2007 issue of Homicide Studies, free for a limited time, click here.