Hackers & Social Science
Article Synopsis
I will be reviewing an article from the International Journal of Cybersecurity Intelligence & Cybercrime, Titled: Juvenile Hackers: An Empirical Test of Self-Control Theory and Social Bonding Theory. This article is about empirical research on how Self-control theory and social bonding theory can explain the various types of crimes committed by middle school and high school students. There are 5 hypotheses for this study:
1 “Higher levels of low self-control will increase computer hacking.” (Back, Soor, & LaPrade, 2018).
My definition: An individual who cannot control or keep their emotions in check when herd times arise will more likely commit computer crimes.
2 “Higher levels of parent attachment will decrease computer hacking.” (Back, Soor, & LaPrade, 2018).
My definition: An individual who is close with their parents will less likely commit a computer crime.
3 “Higher levels of attachment to parental supervision will decrease computer hacking.” (Back, Soor, & LaPrade, 2018).
My definition: Parents active involved in their child’s activities during the day will less likely commit a computer crime.
4 “Higher levels of involvement will decrease computer hacking.” (Back, Soor, & LaPrade, 2018).
My definition: Same as definition number 3.
5 “Higher levels of school attachment will decrease computer hacking.” (Back, Soor, & LaPrade, 2018).
My definition: Students more involved in school activities and extracurricular or student who truly try to take school series and pass their classes will less likely commit a computer crime.
Research methods
The research conducted in this article was done solely by surveys. The authors state that they utilize data from a large international collaborative project called the International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD-2). “Participants in the self-report survey were 68,507 students from grades 7, 8 and 9 between the ages of 12– 15 years old.” (Back, Soor, & LaPrade, 2018). According to the authors the data came from these sources “The breakdown of the number of students surveyed by countries is as follows: 2,400 students were surveyed from the United States, 2,322 from Venezuela, 1,789 from Spain, 3,022 from France, 3,478 from Germany, 1,458 from Poland, 2,203 from Hungary, and 2,313 from Russia. This resulted in a total of 18,985 students for the sample size of this study.” (Back, Soor, & LaPrade, 2018).
Social Science Principles
Relativism can be seen in this article as the study itself is trying to prove that self-control theory and Social Bonding theory are the reasons behind juveniles committing computer crimes. The relativism that is seen here is cultural relativism since the study is saying that a person’s beliefs and culture are the sole contributors to why they commit computer crimes. “… while the offender’s low self-control causes the delinquent act to occur. Therefore, according to the theory, low self-control is the primary cause of all delinquent and criminal behavior across all cultures, places, and times.” (Back, Soor, & LaPrade, 2018). Another principle seen in this article is Empiricism which is when science discovers evidence discovered in experiments. The experiments and evidence are derived from the data that this article receives their research from as described in the above paragraph.
Conclusion
In this article review I discussed the overall synopsis of the article which is how 2 theories contribute to the behaviors of juveniles in computer crime. There were 5 hypotheses of this study that I provided a personal definition for each hypothesis. The main research method of this article was by surveys of specific groups that fit the juvenile category. Finally, the two principles tied directly into this article were relativism and Empiricism.
Reference
Back, Sinchul; Soor, Sadhika; and LaPrade, Jennifer (2018) Juvenile Hackers: An Empirical Test of Self Control Theory and Social Bonding Theory, International Journal of Cybersecurity Intelligence & Cybercrime: 1(1), 40-55. https://www.doi.org/10.52306/01010518VMDC9371