Abstract- Exploring the moderating effects of self-control on school attachment and juvenile hacking

 

Previous criminological research has supported the significant relationship between self-control, social bonds, and juvenile delinquency. However, limited research has explored these relationships with property-based cybercrime offenses such as computer hacking. In fact, while various studies have examined the impact of individual and neighborhood-level predictors on computer-assisted crimes such as online interpersonal violence (e.g., cyberbullying, online harassment), research examining the influence of both micro and macro-level predictors on computer-dependent behaviors such as hacking are scant. Even less research has examined the potential interaction (e.g., moderating) effects of self- control on school attachment and youth hacking. Using secondary data from the Second International Self-Reported Delinquency Study (ISRD-2), the current study examined whether self-control influences the relationship between school attachment and computer hacking among an international sample of 68,507 adolescent respondents. The theoretical and policy implications of the study are discussed in detail.