#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.

Notes

¹ For a more detailed discussion of this issue, see Reyns and colleagues (2011).

² This measure is utilized as an independent variable for the second analysis and is coded in the same fashion.

³ To ensure that it was appropriate to combine these items, a reliability analysis was performed for the five measures. This produced a Cronbach’s alpha statistic of 0.853, indicating a high level of internal consistency.

⁴ In order to overcome any possible definitional issues, we chose to ask about specific behaviors rather than about cyberbullying more generically.

⁵ To ensure that it was appropriate to combine these items, a reliability analysis was performed for the 24 measures. This produced a Cronbach’s alpha statistic of 0.846, indicating a high level of internal consistency.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Billy Henson

BILLY HENSON is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at Shippensburg University. His research interests include fear of crime, cybercrime victimization, interpersonal victimization, and criminology theory. He has research studies appearing in Victims and Offenders, Criminal Justice and Behavior, Violence and Victims, and the Journal of Interpersonal Victimization. He also co-authored the book Fear of Crime in the United States: Causes, Contradictions, and Consequences.

Kristin Swartz

KRISTIN SWARTZ is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at University of Louisville. Her research focuses on the influence of cultural influences on offending and victimization across a variety of contexts such as communities, schools, and social networks. Her recent work can be found in Criminology, Violence and Victims, and Victims and Offenders.

Bradford W. Reyns

BRADFORD W. REYNS is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at Weber State University. His research focuses on different dimensions of criminal victimization, particularly victimological theory, victim decision making, and the relationship between technology use and victimization. Reyns’ recent work on these topics has appeared in Justice Quarterly, Journal of Criminal Justice, and Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency.