Adolescents deserve special attention because they may not seem as appealing as younger abused children and because they often get lost in the shuffle when it comes to intervention. According to limited available evidence, perhaps half of adolescent abuse victims are "graduates" of child abuse. Long-term adolescent abuse cases are heavily concentrated among low-income groups. Abuse that begins in adolescence, however, is more evenly spread across the population. Poverty is less likely to be a major factor, and parents are more likely to be married and relatively stable. Young children are more likely to be victims of severe physical abuse than adolescents, but reported sexual abuse plays a progressively larger role as children mature, particularly for females. Family sexual abuse occurs across socioeconomic levels and usually indicates marital and other interpersonal problems. Adolescent abuse often tends to be emotional abuse; rejection, overcontrol, and neglect can lead to low self-esteem, excessive and self-destructive rebelliousness, and depressive or suicidal tendencies. Since the nature of the parent-child relationship is a good predictor of future behavior problems, maltreatment makes teenagers prone to delinquency. Studies indicate that parents whose children become aggressive or delinquent tend to treat their children in a hostile manner. Two central issues are involved in preventing adolescent abuse: providing more effective community responses to child maltreatment, and increasing the social skills of both parents and youth. Resources to protect children and youth from maltreatment are noted, and the importance of professional awareness and social change is stressed. 26 references