New research reveals four US states where psychopaths are most likely to live

Researchers have highlighted the ‘dark’ personality traits often associated with psychopaths and where they could be living in the US.

For years, researchers and scientists have attempted to find out how the brains of psychopaths work, and answer the age old question as to whether they are born or made.

While the scientific community does not yet have a complete answer, new research has indicated where psychopaths are more likely to live in the US and offered a reason as to why.

The study was led by psychologist professor Ingo Zettler of the University of Copenhagen and it analyzed data on nearly 2 million people across 183 countries and all 50 U.S. states.

The researchers measured four traits, narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy and sadism — across all 50 states, using data from at least 100 participants in each.

Researchers have highlighted four dark personality traits and the prevelance across the US (Getty Stock Image)

The data of 144,576 Americans was collected from February 2, 2019 to February 19, 2024.

So, which states scored the highest for the four ‘devious’ characteristics?

It was Nevada, Louisiana, New York and Texas that came in highest.

The study indicated that higher levels of ‘dark’ personality traits can be influenced by unfavorable societal conditions. These include issues of poverty, crime, inequality, and scarcity of resources.

Zettler spoke to Newsweek about the findings and reiterated the overlap between developing these types of characteristics and the environment.

They said: “It is relatively well known that both genetic and socio-ecological factors shape individuals' personality. However, respective research has hardly considered ethically or socially aversive personality characteristics.

The researchers reflected on the influence environment has on moulding personalities (Getty Stock Image)

“Given that we now have data from about 2 million people across the world who filled out our measure on the core underlying all aversive traits via our website, we thought it would be interesting to see whether adverse societal conditions contribute to the proliferation of selfish, egoistic, and other traits.”

He went on to note how psychopaths, as well as people with other negative characteristic traits, can become more prevalent the more adverse conditions are in a society. He clarified this was not just unique to the US but applied to people around the world.

He added: “Our findings substantiate that personality is not just something we are born with, but also shaped by the society we grew up and live in.

“Aversive personality traits are associated with behaviors such as aggression, cheating, and exploitation—and thus with high social costs. Therefore, even small variations can lead to large differences in how societies function.”