Cyberstalking Victimization Model Using Criminological Theory: A Systematic Literature Review, Taxonomies, Applications, Tools, and Validations

Waheeb Abu-Ulbeh,Abdulwahab Ali Almazroi,Putra Sumari,Amir H Gandomi,Maryam Altalhi,Laith Abualigah

doi:10.3390/electronics10141670

Abstract

Cyberstalking is a growing anti-social problem being transformed on a large scale and in various forms. Cyberstalking detection has become increasingly popular in recent years and has technically been investigated by many researchers. However, cyberstalking victimization, an essential part of cyberstalking, has empirically received less attention from the paper community. This paper attempts to address this gap and develop a model to understand and estimate the prevalence of cyberstalking victimization. The model of this paper is produced using routine activities and lifestyle exposure theories and includes eight hypotheses. The data of this paper is collected from the 757 respondents in Jordanian universities. This review paper utilizes a quantitative approach and uses structural equation modeling for data analysis. The results revealed a modest prevalence range is more dependent on the cyberstalking type. The results also indicated that proximity to motivated offenders, suitable targets, and digital guardians significantly influences cyberstalking victimization. The outcome from moderation hypothesis testing demonstrated that age and residence have a significant effect on cyberstalking victimization. The proposed model is an essential element for assessing cyberstalking victimization among societies, which provides a valuable understanding of the prevalence of cyberstalking victimization. This can assist the researchers and practitioners for future research in the context of cyberstalking victimization.

Highlights

The Internet has been an integral part of daily life in recent years
Outliers have a solid solution to a single question or have drastic answers to all questions, in the straight-lining issue, the respondent cases should be removed, and in the outlier issue, if there are few identified outlier cases, the respondent cases are removed from the data set [179]
Over 908 questionnaires were distributed to the replacements, and 757 questionnaires were eligible for analysis, which meant that 151 cases were removed from the data set

Summary

Introduction

The Internet has been an integral part of daily life in recent years. The exponential spread of the Internet and other information and communication technology affect every area of life. Over the last two decades, the development of the Internet and the exponential growth of the World Wide Web (WWW) have profoundly altered life in contemporary societies [48,49]. In conjunction with the rapid development of ICTs, the Internet has created a near-perfect arena for crimes to occur [48]. The various forms of cyberstalking include sending harassing text messages, taking photos or videos of victims without their consent, sending malicious malware or spyware to the victim’s email, sending false information or statements to others by using the victim’s email directly, and monitoring the victim’s email or computer [54]

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Conclusion