Billy Henson

Being Pursued Online: Applying Cyberlifestyle–Routine Activities Theory to Cyberstalking Victimization

Building upon Eck and Clarke’s (2003) ideas for explaining crimes in which there is no face-to-face contact between victims and offenders, the authors developed an adapted lifestyle–routine activities theory. Traditional conceptions of place-based environments depend on the convergence of victims and offenders in time and physical space to explain opportunities for victimization. With their proposed cyberlifestyle–routine activities theory, the authors moved beyond this conceptualization to explain opportunities for victimization in cyberspace environments where traditional conceptions of time and space are less relevant. Cyberlifestyle–routine activities theory was tested using a sample of 974 college students on a particular type of cybervictimization—cyberstalking. The study’s findings provide support for the adapted theoretical perspective. Specifically, variables measuring online exposure to risk, online proximity to motivated offenders, online guardianship, online target attractiveness, and online deviance were significant predictors of cyberstalking victimization. Implications for advancing cyberlifestyle–routine activities theory are discussed.

Stalking in the Twilight Zone: Extent of Cyberstalking Victimization and Offending Among College Students

Over the last decade, researchers have consistently reported that stalking is a disturbing reality for many individuals, especially youths. Cyberstalking, however, has received much less attention from the research community than stalking. Few estimates of cyberstalking victimization or cyberstalking offending have been published. The current study attempts to address these gaps by estimating lifetime prevalence of both cyberstalking victimization and offending among a sample of undergraduates from a large urban university in the Midwest. Results show that 40.8% had experienced cyberstalking victimization, with females, nonwhites, non-heterosexuals, and non-singles disproportionately experiencing cyberstalking. Approximately 4.9% of students had perpetrated cyberstalking, but there were few differences in offending across students’ demographic characteristics.

The unintended consequences of digital technology: exploring the relationship between sexting and cybervictimization

Progress in cyber technology has created innovative ways for individuals to communicate with each other. Sophisticated cell phones, often with integrated cameras, have made it possible for users to instantly send photos, videos, and other materials back and forth to each other regardless of their physical separation. This same technology also makes sexting possible – sending nude or semi-nude images, often of oneself, to others electronically (e.g., by text message, email). Few studies examining sexting have been published, and most have focused on the legal issues associated with juvenile sexting. In general, lacking are empirical analyses of the prevalence of sexting, and its potential consequences (i.e., victimization) that are theoretically grounded. Accordingly, we explored the possible link between sexting and online personal victimization (i.e., cybervictimization) among a sample of college students. As hypothesized, respondents who engaged in sexting were more likely to not only experience cybervictimization, but also to be victimized by different types of cybervictimization.

Fear of Crime Online? Examining the Effect of Risk, Previous Victimization, and Exposure on Fear of Online Interpersonal Victimization

Research exploring the extent and nature of fear of crime has spanned decades; it has been examined in many contexts, among varied populations, and from different theoretical perspectives. However, researchers have been slow to estimate or explain individuals’ fear of online crime. The current study is among the first to address this issue by examining experiences from a random sample of undergraduate students enrolled at a large public university. In particular, we explore the links between perceived risk, online victimization, and fear of online interpersonal victimization (OIPV) and how these relationships vary by the victim–offender relationship. The effects of online exposure and demographic characteristics were also estimated. Results suggest that perceived risk of OIPV was significantly related to fear of OIPV for all types of victim–offender relationships, while previous online victimization was significant for fear of OIPV by intimate partners and friends/acquaintances only.

Digital Deviance: Low Self-Control and Opportunity as Explanations of Sexting Among College Students

Social scientists have begun to explore sexting—sharing nude or semi-nude images of oneself with others using digital technology—to understand its extent and nature. Building on this growing body of research, the current study utilizes the self-control and opportunity perspectives from criminology to explain sending, receiving, and mutually sending and receiving sext messages. The possible mediating effects of lifestyles and routine activities on the effects of low self-control also were tested using a sample of college students. Results revealed that low self-control is significantly and positively related to each type of sexting behavior, and that while certain lifestyles and routines mediated these effects, low self-control remained a significant predictor of participation in sexting.

The Thief With a Thousand Faces and the Victim With None Identifying Determinants for Online Identity Theft Victimization With Routine Activity Theory

Available evidence suggests that identity theft is a growing problem that has significant consequences for victims, not the least of which is billions of dollars in financial losses. However, very little is known about the correlates or causes of identity theft victimization. Utilizing a nationally representative sample of individuals from the Canadian General Social Survey, the current study attempts to address this deficiency by examining the link between victims’ online routine activities and their online identity theft victimization. It was found that certain routine activities directly influence the likelihood of experiencing identity theft. Potential research and policy implications also are discussed.

A Gendered Lifestyle-Routine Activity Approach to Explaining Stalking Victimization in Canada

Research into stalking victimization has proliferated over the last two decades, but several research questions related to victimization risk remain unanswered. Accordingly, the present study utilized a lifestyle-routine activity theoretical perspective to identify risk factors for victimization. Gender-based theoretical models also were estimated to assess the possible moderating effects of gender on the relationship between lifestyle-routine activity concepts and victimization risk. Based on an analysis of a representative sample of more than 15,000 residents of Canada from the Canadian General Social Survey (GSS), results suggested conditional support for lifestyle-routine activity theory and for the hypothesis that predictors of stalking victimization may be gender based.

#Respect: Applying Anderson’s Code of the Street to the Online Context

ABSTRACT Anderson’s work on street codes has become a seminal piece in cultural criminology. Today, it is frequently argued that street-oriented cultural beliefs are strongly linked to criminal offending. While numerous studies have found support for this link, research has yet to examine this relationship as it applies to Internet-based criminal behaviors. The current study attempts to fill this gap by examining both the predictors and effect of similar cultural beliefs in the online context. Results indicate that while controlling for more commonly examined predictors of crime, individuals who adhere to street-oriented beliefs in an online context are more likely to commit cybercrime.

Guardians of the Cyber Galaxy An Empirical and Theoretical Analysis of the Guardianship Concept From Routine Activity Theory as It Applies to Online Forms of Victimization

The present study examines the guardianship concept from routine activity theory with respect to its utility in reducing the risk for cyberstalking victimization. Offline guardianship is examined as a possible protective factor against online victimization, along with individuals’ online routine activities. Data were collected from a large sample of students from an urban university in the Midwest through a self-report web-based victimization survey. Results suggest that offline guardianship does not protect individuals from cyberstalking victimization and that online target hardening may yield greater prevention benefits. Study findings are discussed in light of the current state of the body of online routine activity research, particularly regarding how to define and operationalize guardians and guardianship against online victimization.

Special Issue Introduction: The Impact of the Media in Criminal Justice:

Within the social sciences, there is a widely shared belief that reality as we know it is a socially constructed artifact, influenced heavily by both group and individual-level perspectives (Berger & Luckmann, 1966; Krippendorff, 2016; McLeod & Chaffee, 2017; Zerubavel, 2016). For most people, the construction of that reality is based largely on two things—direct experience and symbolic reality. Direct experience, of course, includes all the interactions and phenomena that we each physically experience. However, our symbolic reality includes all the beliefs, ideas, and perspectives developed through indirect or secondary experiences (McLeod & Chaffee, 2017). For example, while I have never had a broken bone, I have constructed an idea of what it would be like based on the experiences of my friends and the portrayal of such injuries on television. Unfortunately, it may be difficult to determine if one’s symbolic reality is accurate, without direct experience. Essentially, unless I break my arm, I may never know if my perceptions of having a broken bone are accurate, and that’s not a theory I want to test anytime soon. However, by examining those secondary or indirect sources of information, researchers may gain insight into how and why certain symbolic perspectives form.