Abstract
In an increasingly digital world, our social interactions are increasingly moving online. Differential association and social learning theories suggest that we learn both moral definitions and the how-to of crime from those we associate with. In this paper we examine whether online or offline social learning leads to more self-disclosed forms of cyber-offending. Using a national online sample of 1,109 participants, we find both online and offline social learning are important correlates to cyber-offending. In addition, we predict that lower self-control will interact with social learning to further increase the likelihood of cyber-offending. Overall, we find that both social learning and self-control, individually and as an interaction, have a large effect-size in predicting cyber-offending.
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This research was funded by the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention at Virginia Tech. Grant number 105-19.
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Dearden, T.E., Parti, K. Cybercrime, Differential Association, and Self-Control: Knowledge Transmission Through Online Social Learning. Am J Crim Just 46, 935–955 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-021-09655-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-021-09655-4