The current study tested the interaction between micro- and macro-level criminological concepts to determine whether a free market cultural ethos moderated the criminal thinking–delinquency connection. Using a cross-national sample of 65,923 youth (32,614 boys, 33,309 girls, 10 to 20 years of age), the link between criminal thinking and delinquency was explored in 28 nations, each of which had been scored on the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom. Results revealed that a free market cultural ethos had a significant moderating effect on the criminal thinking–delinquency relationship. These results suggest that macro-level free market attitudes toward personal wealth as a cultural goal may interact with such micro-level criminological concepts as criminal thinking and delinquency to alter important criminological associations.

当前的研究测试了微观和宏观犯罪学概念之间的相互作用，以确定自由市场文化精神是否缓和了犯罪思维与犯罪行​​为的联系。使用65,923名青年（32,614名男孩，33,309名女孩，10至20岁的年龄）的跨国样本，在28个国家中探索了犯罪思维与犯罪之间的联系，每个国家均在美国传统基金会的经济指数中得到了评分自由。结果表明，自由的市场文化精神对犯罪思维与犯罪行​​为关系具有显着的调节作用。这些结果表明，将个人财富作为一种文化目标的宏观自由市场态度可能会与诸如犯罪思维和犯罪的微观犯罪概念相互作用，从而改变重要的犯罪学联系。