Preventing crime online: Identifying determinants of online preventive behaviors using structural equation modeling and canonical correlation analysis

Abstract

The purpose of the present research was to identify determinants of online crime prevention behaviors by examining the relationships between online victimization, online exposure, online communication behaviors and online prevention within an opportunity framework. Utilizing a large national sample of residents of Canada from the General Social Survey, structural equation modeling and canonical correlation analysis were used to assess the effects of opportunity-based routines upon preventive behaviors as well as the effects of individual elements of each construct on the relationship between the constructs. Results from the structural equation models indicate that there is a positive and significant relationship between online victimization and the adoption of online preventative routines, while the canonical correlation analyses suggest that these relationships are complex and that specific types of victimization are related to particular prevention efforts. The present research provides early evidence that online lifestyles influence the theorized cycle of online victimization and preventative efforts. We find that indicators of online exposure and communications routines were positive predictors of online victimization, and that online victimization is positively associated with taking precautionary measures.