Cybercrime Correlates Among Adolescents in Europe and South America

A Cross-National Analysis Based on Situational Action Theory

Dados Bibliográficos

ID21619476
AutoresJanne Vepsäläinen (0009-0002-9562-9313, Tampere University, autor correspondente), Markus Kaakinen (0000-0002-7067-1665, University of Helsinki), Noora Ellonen (0000-0003-2961-0606, Tampere University), Karin Arbach (0000-0003-1753-4693, National Scientific and Technical Research Council, Buenos Aires, Argentina), Marina Rezende Bazon (0000-0002-8037-8710, Universidade de São Paulo), N Hazel (0000-0002-4496-7913, University of Salford), Janne Kivivuori (0000-0002-3572-0791, University of Helsinki), Iza Kokoravec (0000-0003-2994-0461, University of Maribor, Slovenia), Camilla Løvschall Langeland (University of Oslo), Anna Markina (0000-0002-8405-9186, University of Tartu, Estonia), Gorazd Meško (0000-0001-7466-0042, University of Maribor, Slovenia), Juan Antonio Rodríguez (0000-0003-4111-1666, University of the Andes, Merida, Venezuela), Margrét Valdimarsdóttir (0000-0001-9779-641X, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland), Atte Oksanen (0000-0003-4143-5580, Tampere University)
Ano2025
Volume41
Fascículo4
Páginas661-678
Data de publicação2025-11-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Contemporary Criminal Justice (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1043-9862 • E-ISSN: 1552-5406
EditoraSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/10439862251389822
OpenAlexW4416298254
IdiomaEN
Referências citadas35

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

Cybercrime · Hacker · Juvenile delinquency · Poison control · Sanctions · Situational ethics · Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Cybercrime and Law Enforcement Studies