Explaining Why Cybercrime Occurs: Criminological and Psychological Theories

Several criminological and psychological theories and their empirical support for explaining cybercrime are reviewed. Social learning theory, self-control theory, and subcultural theories have garnered much empirical attention and support. Lack of moral qualms, association with deviant peers and neutralizations have consistently been associated with a wide range of cyber-offending. From routine activities theory, increased visibility is associated with higher cyber-victimization and cyber-offending across many offenses. Integrating social learning and self-control concepts, research has found that effects of low self-control on cybercrime are mediated through association with deviant peers and beliefs that the behaviors are not morally wrong. Research in the tradition of subcultural theories have discovered the norms underlying memberships in deviant groups of persistent digital pirates, hackers, and regular participants in the online illicit sex trade. Limited research has examined deterrence theory, general strain theory, or differential reinforcements in social learning theory. Future research is needed to integrate the perceived characteristics of cyberspace with the formation of attitudes and beliefs supportive of perpetration of cybercrimes, and to address the dearth of knowledge about the nature of social interactions in cyberspace and how such interactions shape real world interactions.