This study surveyed 178 children incarcerated in training schools in North Carolina to estimate the proportion of children who had been witnesses to or victims of neighborhood and family violence, the children's levels of depressive symptoms, and relationships between violence exposure and depressive symptoms. Neighborhood violence was assessed using questions adapted from Richters and Martinez, family violence was assessed using questions from the Conflict Tactics Scales, and depressive symptoms were assessed using the Children's Depression Inventory. Results showed that the majority of children reported having been exposed to neighborhood and family violence. Children evidenced high levels of depressive symptoms with more than 70% showing clinically relevant levels of symptomatology. Multiple linear regression procedures found that both neighborhood and family violence were predictive of the levels of depressive symptoms. These findings underline the need to provide highquality therapeutic services to children during incarceration in training schools and after their discharge.
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