Poster #138 - Understanding Cybercrime and Wellbeing: An Exploratory Analysis of Offending and Victimization

• In Event: Poster Session II (posters 80 – 155)

Abstract

Research on cybercrime has long focused on technical approaches to online offending and victimization. Limited attention has been given to social understandings of cybercrime and how sociological characteristics may influence online deviance. Using a novel dataset from a nationally representative sample, this exploratory project examines how an individual’s wellbeing may be associated with cybercrime offending and victimization. Several wellbeing-related indicators are analyzed, including emotional and financial wellbeing, to study this relationship. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analyses are used to study patterns of wellbeing and cybercrime, including number of offenses and victimizations, types of cybercrime, and other demographic information. Utilizing strain theories to understand this relationship, this project will explore how wellbeing may shape cybercrime offending and vulnerability to cybercrime victimization. Avenues for further research and directions for potential interventions and prevention strategies are also discussed.

Author

• Amelia Simmons, Virginia Tech University