P021 - Cybercrime Among Adolescents: A Cross-National Comparative Analysis of Severity and Prevalence

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Abstract

Emerging technologies makes cybercrime an increasingly important area of research in criminology. However, it is currently unclear how cybercrime compares to other criminal behavior among young people in terms of prevalence and severity. The often used multiple-item measurement of self-reported offending can obscure differences in severity between different crimes. This is particularly problematic for new forms of crime, such as cyber- crime, whose relationship with more traditional forms of crime is still partly unknown. In this study, we are using representative cross-national data from ten countries from fourth International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD4, N = 21 913) to study the prevalence of hacking, cyber fraud, hate speech and online sexual violence among adolescents (aged 13 to 17). The countries included in the study are United Kingdom, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Iceland, and Slovenia. In addition, we utilize Item Response Theory to analyze the relative seriousness of cybercrime offenses against more conventional forms of delinquency (i.e. property and violent crimes). Study also provides information on the shared risk factors for cybercrime and more traditional forms of delinquency. Based on our findings, we reflect on the criminal political significance of cybercrime from the point of view of the prevalence and seriousness of crime.

Authors

• Janne Vepsäläinen, Tampere University

• Markus Kaakinen, University of Helsinki

• Noora Ellonen, Research director

• Atte Oksanen, Tampere University