Samenvatting

This article presents a micro- and a macro-level analysis of predictors of delinquency in order to contribute to the discussion about the micro-macro problem in criminology. We use Coleman’s boat (1990) to situate our research question. Individual theories dominate the field of delinquency, there are few theories at macro level. Cross-level theoretical integration primarily takes place between individual (micro) and community (meso) levels, and hardly ever on (national) macro level. Our question is to which extent macro-level theory fruitfully may use concepts drawn from micro-level theory. We test a micro and a macro model using indicators from the domains of family, school, friends/peers and economy, using data collected by the Second International Self-Report Study of Delinquency (ISRD2), a cross-national self-report survey of delinquency and victimization among students between 12 and 16 years in 30 countries (n=71.436). Dependent variable at micro level is versatility (last year), at the macro level (national) we use contacts with the police for youths under 18. Results confirm the importance of including macro context (country clusters) in the analysis of individual delinquency. We further conclude that factors related to family and friends correlate at both micro and macro level with measures of delinquency; the role of school and economic factors is less clear-cut. The article concludes with the recommendation to give the micro-macro problem in delinquency theory a more central and explicit position in research programs.