Noting that, every day, adolescents make choices about the extent to which acts of violence will shape their lives, this book examines the following questions: (1) how did this emergence of violence happen; and (2) what can we do to shape safer lives for adolescents? The introduction discusses the characteristics and demographics of contemporary adolescents, the family, and an ecological framework of violence in adolescence. Chapters 2-6 use case studies to illustrate the issues. The eight chapters in the book are: (1) Adolescent Development and Violence; (2) Suicidal Adolescents--"Susan: 'You'll Be Sorry When I' Gone'"; (3) Runaways--"Michelle: 'You'd Leave, Too, If You Was Me'"; (4) Delinquents--"Richie: 'I'm Not Afraid of Dying'"; (5) Adolescent Sex Offenders--"Paul: 'You Don't Know What It Feels Like to Be Me'"; (6) Physically Abused Adolescents--"Dawn: 'Maybe It's My Fault; I Don't Really Know'"; (7) Self-Help and Community Approaches; and (8) Social Policy. An appendix contains a list of 38 self-help books for parents and adolescents. (Contains 361 references.) (BGC)