An exploration of crimes related to online dating

Davis, Megan (2018) An exploration of crimes related to online dating. DForenPsy thesis, University of Nottingham.

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Abstract

This thesis explores crimes related to online dating. After an introduction to online dating crimes (chapter 1), a systematic literature review (chapter 2) looks at current studies considering online dating romance scams. Studies indicate several factors that make victims more vulnerable to these scams, such as their romantic beliefs. Techniques used by scammers are also discussed. Chapter 2 collates what is known so far and highlights gaps in the literature: namely the lack of research.

Later chapters focus on crimes occurring on face to face dates with an online partner. Chapter 3 provides the first empirical look at these crimes, and explores potential ways of predicting when these crimes will occur. Results indicate that sexual, pressuring, arrogant, or self-deprecating message content is more likely to indicate risk. Chapter 4 uses interpretative phenomenological analysis to obtain rich qualitative information on the experience of sexual assault on dates. It reveals that this experience triggers a range of negative emotions in the victim, and indicates that better education on consent may be an important prevention technique.

Finally, chapter 5 presents a critique of the Romantic Beliefs Scale (Sprecher & Metts, 1989), which has been used to measure romantic beliefs of online dating crime victims. The review suggests the scale is adequate for use in predicting who may fall victim to online dating crimes. These studies are then summarised in chapter 6 to provide implications for prevention of online dating crimes and suggests areas of further research.

Item Type: Thesis (University of Nottingham only) (DForenPsy)
Supervisors: Browne, Kevin
Keywords: Online dating; Prevention of sex crimes; dating romance scams; Crime prediction; Online crimes
Subjects: W Medicine and related subjects (NLM Classification) > WM Psychiatry
Faculties/Schools: UK Campuses > Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > School of Medicine
Item ID: 50971
Depositing User: Davis, Megan
Date Deposited: 19 Jun 2018 13:56
Last Modified: 19 Jun 2018 14:00
URI: https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/50971

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