VIOLENCE IS A SPECIFIC FORM OF FORCE THAT INVOLVES THE EFFORT TO DESTROY OR INJURE SOMETHING PERCEIVED AS AN ACTUAL, POTENTIAL, OR SYMBOLIC SOURCE OF FRUSTRATION OR DANGER. NOT ALL AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR IS VIOLENT. VIOLENCE IMPLIES THAT THE AGGRESSIVE ACTION IS CLEARLY DESTRUCTIVE IN ITS INTENT. THERE IS NO SOUND EVIDENCE FOR A SPONTANEOUS AGGRESSIVE INSTINCT IN HUMAN BEINGS. LIKE OTHER MAMMALS, HUMANS ARE BORN WITH THE CAPACITY FOR AGGRESSIVE AND VIOLENT BEHAVIOR, BUT WHETHER THIS CAPACITY FINDS EXPRESSION ALMOST ALWAYS DEPENDS ON SOME EXTERNAL FACTOR RATHER THAN ON A SPONTANEOUS INNER URGE. VIOLENCE TAKES A VARIETY OF FORMS--LEGAL, ILLEGAL, RITUALIZED, INSTITUTIONALIZED. THERE ARE ALSO QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DIFFERENCES. VIOLENCE, PARTICULARLY GROUP VIOLENCE, MAY EVEN HAVE CONSTRUCTIVE ASPECTS, SUCH AS SERVING AS A SIGNALING DEVICE OR A VEHICLE FOR EXPRESSION OF GROUP IDEALS. THE CAUSES OF VIOLENCE ARE BASICALLY INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC. INDIVIDUAL CAUSES INCLUDE BOTH BIOLOGICAL FACTORS (E.G., ORGANIC BRAIN DISEASE, GENETIC AND HORMONAL FACTORS, DRUG-INDUCED DISTURBANCES IN BRAIN FUNCTION) AND PSYCHOGENIC FACTORS (E.G., FEELINGS OF HOSTILITY, FEAR, AND BOREDOM). THE MOST SIGNIFICANT SOCIOECONOMIC FACTOR IS POVERTY. VIOLENCE OFTEN IS GREATEST WHEN CONDITIONS SEEM TO BE IMPROVING FOR THE LOWER SOCIOECONOMIC CLASSES; I.E., WHEN A DEPRIVED GROUP BEGINS TO SENSE THAT A BETTER LIFE IS POSSIBLE AND BECOMES LESS ABLE TO TOLERATE CONDITIONS THAT IT ACCEPTED PASSIVELY IN A STATE OF HOPELESSNESS. OTHER SOCIAL FACTORS IN VIOLENCE INCLUDE RACIAL OR ETHNIC DISCRIMINATION, THE PROLONGATION OF ADOLESCENCE, INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF VIOLENCE IN CULTURAL PATTERNS, AND CONFLICTING IDEOLOGIES. THE REMEDIES FOR VIOLENCE ARE IMPLICIT IN ITS MULTIPLE CAUSES. THERE IS NO SIMPLISTIC OR UNITARY ANSWER. EFFORTS TO ELIMINATE INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOPATHOLOGY, TO STRENGTHEN THE MORAL FIBER OF YOUTH, AND TO INCREASE LAW AND ORDER ARE NOT ENOUGH. TO DEAL WITH VIOLENCE ON A BROADER SCALE, SOCIETY MUST ULTIMATELY CONFRONT THE BASIC SOCIAL PROBLEMS OF UNEMPLOYMENT, INADEQUATE HOUSING, POVERTY, AND RACIAL PREJUDICE. A LIST OF REFERENCES IS INCLUDED. (LKM)