Gender, Socioeconomic Status and Cybercrime Intentions among Social Studies Students in Colleges of Education, Southwest, Nigeria
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Date
2025-12
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Lead City University, Ibadan
Abstract
The growing trend of cybercrime in Nigeria diverts students’ attention from educational goals, potentially hindering their development as responsible citizens and obstructing national educational objectives. This study investigated the influence of gender and socioeconomic status on cybercrime intentions among social studies students in Colleges of Education across Southwest, Nigeria. It was anchored on social learning theory, feminist criminology theory, and strain theory. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The population comprised all 1,439 second-year social studies students in 23 Colleges of Education located in Oyo, Osun, and Ogun States, representing federal, state, and private institutions. The entire population was sampled using the census method for comprehensive coverage. Data were collected using a self- structured instrument, the Gender and Socioeconomic Status on Cybercrime Intention Questionnaire (GSSCIQ), with a Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficient of 0.89. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, multiple regression, and an independent samples t-test using SPSS version 27. The findings revealed that the most prevalent cybercrime intention among social studies students was an attitude towards cybercrime (46.76%). The relationship between gender and socioeconomic status and cybercrime intentions was that male gender exhibited higher cybercrime intentions compared to their female counterparts (r = -0.251, p < 0.05). The level of socioeconomic status, showed that economic situation has the highest with a weighted mean of (x̅ = 2.37). There was a significant joint influence of gender and
socioeconomic status on cybercrime intention (F (2; 1427) = 17.617, Adj R2 0.023, p < 0.05). The relative influence of gender and socioeconomic status on cybercrime intention, was that peer influence has highest influence (B = 0.0398, SE = 0.029, β = 0.487, t = 13.592, p < 0.01). There was a substantial difference between the mean score of social studies students’ cybercrime intention between students living in rural and urban areas (t = 5.552, p< 0.05). The study concludes that cybercrime intentions among Social Studies students are significantly influenced by gender, socioeconomic status, and residential location. To mitigate these tendencies, Colleges of Education should integrate compulsory cybersecurity ethics modules contextualised with Nigerian case studies and conduct first-year boot camps with law enforcement. Gender-sensitive strategies, including ethical hacking contests for males and peer led forums for females, should be introduced. Programmes on financial literacy and anti- cybercrime clubs can counter socioeconomic risks. Finally, urban-targeted interventions and rural community workshops, supported by community policing, are essential for comprehensive prevention.
Keywords: Cybercrime Intentions, Cybercriminal Motivation, Attitude Towards Crime, Latent Cybercriminal, Risk Perception, Moral Disengagement, Socioeconomic Status.
Word Counts: 431
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Keywords
Cybercrime Intentions, Cybercriminal Motivation, Attitude Towards Crime, Latent Cybercriminal, Risk Perception, Moral Disengagement, Socioeconomic Status.
Citation
kate Turabian