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Male Serial Homicide

The Influence of Cultural and Structural Variables

University of Connecticut, Storrs

Ashley Ditta

Northeastern University, Boston

Lance Hannon

Villanova University, Pennsylvania

Jane Prochnow

Massey University Auckland, New Zealand

Psychiatric approaches have usually been used to explain male serial homicide. But multifactor explanations of the phenomenon suggest that aspects of culture and social structure may also play important roles. The current study attempts to evaluate the multifactor approach by examining whether cultural and structural variables might contribute to explaining the considerable interstate differences in the incidence of male serial killer activity. Separate analyses were conducted for two different state-level male serial killer rates, one based on the state where male serial killers received their early socialization and the other based on the state where male serial killers murdered their largest number of victims. Consistent with the multifactor approach, the results indicated that aspects of culture and social structure were able to account for much of the male serial killer variation among states.

Key Words: serial homicide • culture • social structure • routine activities • subculture of violence

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