Most violent encounters are intimate and occur between friends and acquaintances and within families. In addition, adolescent violence cuts across race, class, and lifestyle. Furthermore, violence is a learned behavior, with children learning adult role models, other adults, and the media that violence is a legitimate option for responding to anger and conflict. The medical profession has recently begun to frame the problem as a public health issue and to recommend different levels of intervention. However, societal assumptions about adolescents are barriers to creating effective services that promote adolescent well-being and competency. Instead, society must ensure that all adolescents have access to supportive environments for their development. To help this efforts, medical clinicians can take action in several areas, including parent education and referral, clinical evaluation of adolescents, followup and referral of adolescents, and public education and community mobilization. Figures and 36 references