Study on Typical Teen Hackers

A new study concludes that many hacker kids tend to have the same qualities as other children who engage in more traditional troubled behavior out in the real, offline world. Low-self control is one of the biggest predictive factors in whether or not students are likely to turn to cybercrime, the researchers found. They may have had other additional involvement in digital piracy. Boys are more likely to hack, and they have different motivations for hacking than girls. Boys are more likely to turn to become hackers if they use drugs, spend a lot of time watching television, or play a tons of computer games. And girls are more likely to turn to cybercrime if they hang out with other kids who shoplift or engage in other types of petty theft. They're also more likely to become hackers if their friends like to frighten or intimidate people "just for fun."


Other risk factors are environmental. Student hackers of both sexes are more likely to have parents who are of higher socio-economic status , and live in small towns or rural areas where there are fewer activities and less structured time.
Holt, T. J., Navarro, J. N., & Clevenger, S. (2019). Exploring the Moderating Role of Gender in Juvenile Hacking Behaviors. Crime & Delinquency. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128719875697