Low self-control and cybercrime: Exploring the utility of the general theory of crime beyond digital piracy

While technological innovations over the last thirty years have markedly improved the ways in which people communicate and gather information, these advances have also led to computer crimes and related deviance becoming permanent fixtures in our society. In an effort to curtail internet offending, it is important for academics and practitioners alike to better understand why some individuals engage in cybercriminality. Criminologists have utilized several theories to investigate this type of deviance, including low self-control theory. However, the vast majority of this prior research has focused on a narrow scope of offending, namely digital piracy. The current study utilizes a sample of 488 undergraduate students to evaluate the theory’s generality hypothesis by examining the extent to which low self-control predicts online deviance in general and beyond digital piracy more specifically. Study results support the generality hypothesis in that low self-control is related to non-digital piracy online deviance. Specific findings, policy implications, and directions for future research are discussed.

[1]  Daniel T. Willingham,et al.  Ask the Cognitive Scientist: Why Does Family Wealth Affect Learning?. , 2012 .

[2]  Alex R. Piquero,et al.  Self-Control Theory: Research Issues , 2009 .

[3]  T. Holt,et al.  The Effect of Self-Control on Victimization in the Cyberworld , 2010 .

[4]  Leslie W. Kennedy,et al.  Risky lifestyles, routine activities, and the General Theory of Crime , 1997 .

[5]  Byongook Moon,et al.  Causes of School Bullying , 2011 .

[6]  Sameer Hinduja,et al.  A critical examination of the digital music phenomenon , 2006 .

[7]  Daniel T. Willingham,et al.  Why Does Family Wealth Affect Learning , 2012 .

[8]  D. Olweus,et al.  Variety and frequency scales of antisocial involvement: Which one is better? , 2003 .

[9]  T. Holt,et al.  Low Self-Control, Deviant Peer Associations, and Juvenile Cyberdeviance , 2012 .

[10]  Holly Ventura Miller,et al.  Self-control, attachment, and deviance among Hispanic adolescents , 2009 .

[11]  W. F. Skinner,et al.  A Social Learning Theory Analysis of Computer Crime among College Students , 1997 .

[12]  Alex R. Piquero,et al.  Specifying the direct and indirect effects of low self-control and situational factors in offenders' decision making: Toward a more complete model of rational offending , 1996 .

[13]  George E. Higgins,et al.  Digital Piracy , 2009 .

[14]  David S. Wall,et al.  The Internet as a Conduit for Criminal Activity , 2015 .

[15]  Amy J. Orr.  Black-White Differences in Achievement: The Importance of Wealth. , 2003 .

[16]  Timothy Buzzell,et al.  Explaining Use of Online Pornography : A Test of Self-Control Theory and Opportunities for Deviance By , 2006 .

[17]  Bernd Marcus,et al.  Self-Control in the General Theory of Crime: , 2004 .

[18]  David A. Makin,et al.  Self-Control, Deviant Peers, and Software Piracy , 2004, Psychological reports.

[19]  Catherine D. Marcum,et al.  Examining the Intersection of Self-Control, Peer Association and Neutralization in Explaining Digital Piracy , 2011 .

[20]  P. Kingston,et al.  Why Education Matters. , 2003 .

[21]  Travis C. Pratt,et al.  Low Self-Control and Imprudent Behavior Revisited , 2011 .

[22]  George E. Higgins,et al.  Low Self-Control and Social Learning in Understanding Students' Intentions to Pirate Movies in the United States , 2007 .

[23]  Patrick Webb,et al.  Book Review: Digital piracy: An integrated theoretical approach , 2014 .

[24]  Douglas Longshore,et al.  SELF-CONTROL AND CRIMINAL OPPORTUNITY: A PROSPECTIVE TEST OF THE GENERAL THEORY OF CRIME , 1998 .

[25]  Mitchell B. Chamlin,et al.  Academic dishonesty and low self‐control: An empirical test of a general theory of crime , 1998 .

[26]  T. Pratt,et al.  THE EMPIRICAL STATUS OF GOTTFREDSON AND HIRSCHI'S GENERAL THEORY OF CRIME: A META‐ANALYSIS , 2000 .

[27]  Sue Bennett,et al.  Beyond the 'digital natives' debate: Towards a more nuanced understanding of students' technology experiences , 2010, J. Comput. Assist. Learn..

[28]  Harold G. Grasmick,et al.  Testing the Core Empirical Implications of Gottfredson and Hirschi's General Theory of Crime , 1993 .

[29]  D. Foster,et al.  Can the general theory of crime account for computer offenders: Testing low self-control as a predictor of computer crime offending , 2004 .

[30]  Shayne Jones,et al.  the general theory of crime: how general is it? , 2004 .

[31]  Shayne Jones,et al.  The Roles of Social Bonds, Personality, and Perceived Costs , 2012, International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology.

[32]  M. Yar.  The Novelty of ‘Cybercrime’ , 2005 .

[33]  John J. Gibbs,et al.  A Test of Gottfredson and Hirschi's General Theory Using Structural Equation Modeling , 2003 .

[34]  Wesley G. Jennings,et al.  Low Self-Control and Police Deviance: Applying Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory to Officer Misconduct , 2014 .

[35]  Michael R. Gottfredson,et al.  A general theory of crime. , 1992 .

[36]  Nicole Leeper Piquero,et al.  Low self-control, organizational theory, and corporate crime , 2002 .

[37]  Travis Hirschi,et al.  Self-control and crime. , 2004 .

[38]  John D. McCluskey,et al.  A general theory of crime and computer crime: An empirical test , 2010 .

[39]  Peter M. Bednar,et al.  A cyber-crime investigation framework , 2008, Comput. Stand. Interfaces.

[40]  Wesley G. Jennings,et al.  An exploration into the factors associated with specialization among college student computer criminals , 2009 .

[41]  Alex R. Piquero,et al.  DOES SELF‐CONTROL AFFECT SURVEY RESPONSE? APPLYING EXPLORATORY, CONFIRMATORY, AND ITEM RESPONSE THEORY ANALYSIS TO GRASMICK ET AL.'S SELF‐CONTROL SCALE , 2000 .

[42]  Sameer Hinduja,et al.  Correlates of Internet Software Piracy , 2001 .

[43]  Avshalom Caspi,et al.  THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL TIES ON CRIME VARY BY CRIMINAL PROPENSITY: A LIFE‐COURSE MODEL OF INTERDEPENDENCE* , 2001 .

[44]  Michael R. Gottfredson,et al.  Commentary: Testing the General Theory of Crime , 1993 .

[45]  Catherine D. Marcum,et al.  Digital Piracy: An Examination of Three Measurements of Self-Control , 2008 .

[46]  John M. MacDonald,et al.  Count Models in Criminology , 2010 .

[47]  Harold G. Grasmick,et al.  Low self-control and imprudent behavior , 1993 .

[48]  Carter Hay,et al.  PARENTING, SELF‐CONTROL, AND DELINQUENCY: A TEST OF SELF‐CONTROL THEORY* , 2001 .

[49]  George E. Higgins.  can low self-control help with the understanding of the software piracy problem? , 2004 .