Online Communities for Child-Attracted Persons as Informal Mental Health Care: Exploring Self-Reported Wellbeing Outcomes.

Online support communities are gaining attention among child-attracted persons (CAPs). Though research has largely focused on the negative consequences these environments create for potential offending, they may also provide a beneficial alternative to more formal treatment settings. To assess the utility for clinical and therapeutic purposes, this analysis focused on subcultural dynamics to examine self-reported wellbeing outcomes of participation in a Dutch forum for CAPs. A total of 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted with moderators, members and mental health professionals involved in the community. Thematic analyses demonstrated that by means of informal social control, bonds of trust and social relational education, the network aims to regulate the behavior and enhance the wellbeing of its marginalized participants. Key outcomes include a decreased sense of loneliness and better coping with stigma, to the point that participants experience less suicidal thoughts. Association with prosocial peers also helps to set moral boundaries regarding behavior towards children, although we cannot fully rule out potential adverse influences. Online support networks offer a stepping stone to professional care that fits individual needs of CAPs, while also providing an informal environment that overcomes limitations of physical therapy and that extents principles of existing prevention and desistance approaches.

Examining the Social Organization Practices of Cybercriminals in the Netherlands Online and Offline.

This study focuses on the organization practices of networks of cybercriminals engaged in serious financial offenses, through a qualitative analysis of the Best and Luckenbill's sociological framework. The study utilized data collected regarding 18 separate criminals investigations from the Netherlands. The results demonstrate that the participants within these networks operated at various stages of deviant sophistication. Surprisingly, the majority of networks exhibit organizational sophistication based on their division of labor and extended duration over time. In fact, most of this sample could be classified as "teams" or "formal organizations." Furthermore, in contrast with prior studies, no loners were present and only a few networks could be classified as "colleagues" or "peers."