Belgium, Canada and Switzerland: Are There Differences in the Contributions of Selected Variables on Self-Reported Property-Related and Violent Delinquency?

Three countries with different sociodemographic characteristics and different school and criminal justice systems are compared using data from Belgium, Switzerland, and Canada with respect to juvenile delinquency as measured by the International Self-Reported Delinquency questionnaire (ISRD-2). Following a brief presentation of descriptive statistics of the different samples, multivariate analyses including basic variables such as gender, age, family composition, immigrant status, school attachment, victimisation, and family and peer relationships make up the core of this study. The contributions of these selected variables are then compared between the participating countries. Between these three countries we find similarities and differences in explaining self-reported property-related and violent delinquency. In the final part of the article, the implications of these findings are discussed.