Understanding the Overlap of Online Offending and Victimization: Using Cluster Analysis to Examine Group Differences

ABSTRACT

Criminal offending and victimization often overlap in both the virtual and offline worlds. However, scholars are still unsure how the offending-victimization relationship plays out between the online and offline worlds. Using a sample of 2,491 adults, four clusters are discovered: 1) those unlikely to have offended or been victimized, 2) those who had online victimization and offending experiences, 3) Those who have been victimized offline and online, but who are unlikely to have offended, and 4) individuals who were victims both online and offline and offended online. Thus, the offending-victimization overlap may be common, but it is certainly not exclusive.

KEYWORDS:

• Cybercrime
• cyberoffending
• cybervictimization
• cluster analysis
• overlap
• poly-victimization
• poly-offending

Acknowledgments

The research was funded by several {institution name anonymized} entities such as The Institute of Society, Culture, and Environment, the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention, and the Integrated Security Destination Area transdisciplinary initiative.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Integrated Security Destination Area; Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention; Institute for Society, Culture and Environment.