Title: Psychosocial Motivation For Cybercrime Among Undergraduate Students Of University Of Port Harcourt
Authors: Ukwuije, Chinedu K. PhD , Echebe, Patrick I. PhD
Volume: 10
Issue: 5
Pages: 71-80
Publication Date: 2026/05/28
Abstract:
This study investigated psychosocial motivation for cybercrime among Undergraduate Students of the University of Port Harcourt. Three research questions and three corresponding hypotheses guided the study. The ex-post facto research design was used for the study. The population for the study comprised all undergraduate students in university of Port Harcourt admitted during the 2024/2025 academic session. The sample for the study 208 respondents. The instrument for the study was a questionnaire titled 'Psychosocial motivation of Cybercrime" (PMCQ) with the modified 4-point likert scale scale. The instrument was validated and had a reliability index of 0.71. The research questions were answered using mean (x) and standard deviation (SD) while t-test was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. From the findings of the study, it was concluded that inordinate desire for wealth, peer pressure and social media significantly motivate cybercrime among undergraduate students of University of Port Harcourt. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that parents should inculcate in their children, the value of contentment. This will help reduce or curb the notion of greed among adolescents as they grow up. Parents should insist on acceptable behaviour of their children starting from their tender age