Violence among adolescent boys in impoverished urban areas is a major public health problem. We assessed violence-related attitudes and beliefs and exposures among 29 delinquent, 22 truant and 12 dependent of the state adolescent boys who attended an urban publicly funded extended day program. One purpose of this study was to assess violence related factors among truant boys as much is unknown about violence in this population. Another objective was to compare truant and dependent boys with delinquent boys to identify violence-related factors distinguishing aggressive/destructive boys from boys with social adjustment problems but who are not aggressive/destructive. All three groups of boys had high exposure to community violence, delinquent friends and anti-social attitudes and beliefs about violence with the highest levels found among delinquents. Absence of a caring adult was pervasive among all groups and highest among delinquents (91% vs. 83%, p = 0.04), and urgently needs to be addressed. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)