Parental Support and Juvenile Involvement in Internet Fraud (Published)
The researcher investigated parental support and juvenile involvement in internet fraud in the Delta North Senatorial District of Delta State. Two null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 levels of significance. The Relative Deprivation Theory was used to explain why parents might support internet fraud. Hence, the theory is very cogent, as it explains the fact that a parent who feels relatively deprived might vent their frustration by encouraging their offspring to seek an alternative route (internet fraud) to achieve material wealth. The study used a descriptive survey research design. All SS 1–2 students who registered in public secondary schools in the Delta North Senatorial District of Delta State make up the target population. The sample consisted of 480 students, 160 from each of the three constituencies (Aniocha/Oshimili, Ika, and Ndokwa/Ukuwani), who were specifically chosen from the three constituencies using stratified random selection techniques. A questionnaire on parental support and Juvenile involvement in internet fraud was used for data collection. At a 0.05 level of significance, the T-test statistic was utilized to evaluate the stated hypotheses. Findings from the study reveal that there is a significant difference in parental materialism support and juvenile involvement in internet fraud. Recommendations were made that parents should not place much emphasis on materialism but rather encourage and foster positive and socially acceptable behavior, such as honesty, contentment, discipline, and so on, rather than sending their juveniles to HK (the hustle kingdom) to make money through internet fraud.
Keywords: Materialism, internet fraud, involvement, juvenile, parental support