Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

9-2016

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Program

Criminal Justice

Advisor

Jeremy Porter

Committee Members

Hung-En Sung

Lucia Trimbur

Subject Categories

Criminology

Keywords

Criminological theories, gender, cybercrime, trajectory analysis, mediation analysis, South Korea

Abstract

In order to improve our understanding of juvenile delinquency and of the factors that can affect it, researchers may need to examine the new forms of crimes emerging in the cyber world. There is still a large knowledge gap regarding the etiology of cybercrime. In particular, very little research on gender differences in cybercrime and the explanatory power of gender based theories and Hirschi’s social bond theory in cybercrime has been undertaken. The current study attempts to fill some of the gaps in the criminological literature on this modern form of crime by examining the explanatory power of traditional theories of crime on digital piracy, as well as by exploring the developmental trajectories in male and female cyber delinquency through adolescence. Moreover, the scope of the analysis was expanded to include more traditional forms of youth delinquency (status delinquency and serious delinquency). Using a nationally representative sample of Korean adolescents (n= 3,449) from the Korean Youth Panel Survey (KYPS), structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to examine the effect of traditional gender role beliefs on online and offline youth delinquency and the mediational effects of social bonds in the relationship between gender roles and online and offline youth delinquency. In addition, group based trajectory modeling (GBTM) was applied to understand the development of boys’ and girls’ involvement in cyber delinquency and traditional delinquency and to identify co-occurring trajectories of online and offline delinquency. The findings of the study provide only partial evidence that gender roles directly or indirectly affect youth delinquency. For instance, higher levels of masculinity were associated with higher involvement in male digital piracy and male status delinquency. On the other hand, social bonds were a significant mediator of only male status delinquency. Results also suggest that similarities exist between male and female developmental trajectories of delinquency and developmental trajectories of digital piracy and status delinquency.

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