Researchers randomly recruited youth from middle South Carolina served by a local community mental health center (n=60), youth served by the State adolescent inpatient program (n=50), and youth in State juvenile justice facilities from the same region (n=75). The study used the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC), version 2.3 to evaluate DSM-III-R diagnoses. The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Youth Self-Report (YSR) were used to evaluate behavioral symptomatology. On the DISC, incarcerated youth had a significantly higher mean number of diagnoses and symptoms compared to youth being served in the community mental health center, but lower numbers than hospitalized youth. Level of "caseness" (at least one diagnosis) was 86 percent in hospitalized youth, 72 percent in incarcerated youth, and 60 percent in youth served by the community mental health center. The groups differed in CBCL mean total T, internalizing T, and externalizing T scores, as well as mean YSR internalizing T scores. The results show the comparability in level of psychopathology in incarcerated and community-treated populations of youth, suggesting the need to develop diversionary programs to prevent the entry of such youth into the juvenile justice system. 5 tables and 30 references