Becoming someone new: identity theft behaviors by high school students

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to contribute to the gap in the literature by investigating the identity theft behaviors of adolescents under the age of 18 and the predictors of these behaviors. To better understand the predictors of hacking behaviors in young people, two criminological theories, general theory of crime and social learning theory, are utilized. Design/methodology/approach – A rural county in western North Carolina was chosen to participate in the study. Principals of four high schools in this county agreed to participate. All 9th through 12th graders were recruited for the study. Those who were given parental permission to participate and gave their own assent were given a survey. Findings – Results indicated that low self-control and deviant peer association were in fact associated with identity theft behaviors of juveniles. Originality/value – The literature is scant, if even existent, on research that investigates the identity theft offending behaviors of juveniles.

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