RT Article
T1 Cybercrime Correlates Among Adolescents in Europe and South America: A Cross-National Analysis Based on Situational Action Theory
JF Journal of contemporary criminal justice
VO 41
IS 4
SP 661
OP 678
A1 Vepsäläinen, Janne
A1 Kaakinen, Markus
A1 Ellonen, Noora
A1 Arbach, Karin
A1 Bazon, Marina Rezende
A1 Hazel, Neal 1971-
A1 Kivivuori, Janne
A1 Kokoravec, Iza
A1 Langeland, Camilla Løvschall
A1 Markina, Anna
A1 Meško, Gorazd 1965-
A1 Juan Antonio 1922-
A1 Valdimarsdóttir, Margrét
A1 Oksanen, Atte
A2 Kaakinen, Markus
A2 Ellonen, Noora
A2 Arbach, Karin
A2 Bazon, Marina Rezende
A2 Hazel, Neal 1971-
A2 Kivivuori, Janne
A2 Kokoravec, Iza
A2 Langeland, Camilla Løvschall
A2 Markina, Anna
A2 Meško, Gorazd 1965-
A2 Juan Antonio 1922-
A2 Valdimarsdóttir, Margrét
A2 Oksanen, Atte
LA English
YR 2025
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1944386580
AB Cybercrime is increasingly recognized as a global issue, with adolescents being a key group as crime trends shift online. However, relatively little is known about the prevalence of cybercrime, its specific risk factors, and how they differ across high and low-middle-income countries. This highlights the need for more cross-national comparative studies on the cybercriminal behavior of young people. This study examines the prevalence of four types of cybercrime (image-based abuse, online hate speech, cyberfraud, and hacking) among adolescents aged 13 to 17 in Europe and South America (N = 28,325). Utilizing data from the International Self-Report Delinquency Study 4 (ISRD4), the analysis includes nine countries from Europe (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) and three from South America (Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela). According to our results, there is variation in adolescent cybercrime offending between countries and continents. Overall, cybercrime and hacking were more common in South America, whereas image-based abuse was more prevalent among adolescents from Europe. Cybercrime was associated with low self-control, morality, and anticipated formal sanctions for cybercrimes, whereas peer delinquency was associated with a higher likelihood of offending. In line with situational action theory (SAT), peer delinquency and anticipated formal sanctions for cybercrimes were associated with cybercrime only among those with low or average morality.
K1 ISRD4
K1 cross-national comparisons
K1 Cybercrime
K1 Situational Action Theory
DO 10.1177/10439862251389822