Despite the awareness that children can have strong negative emotions, murders by children as opposed to adolescents are rare. One comparison of 13 juvenile murderers and violent and nonviolent incarcerated juvenile delinquents confirmed that, with few exceptions, juvenile murderers usually have extensive aggressive histories prior to the murder. Several studies indicate that these children come from dysfunctional and sometimes chaotic homes and often have experienced neglect, physical abuse, or abandonment. In addition, many studies indicate that violent juveniles are likely to commit adult aggressive offenses. Nearly all violent adult criminals have histories of juvenile violence. Efforts are needed to further understand the nature of aggression in children and violence in adolescents and to find useful interventions and methods of prevention to reduce abuse, change behavior patterns, improve opportunities for cognitively disadvantaged children, and provide appropriate medical assessment and treatment. 13 references