The conference reported in this document consisted of three symposia and eight workshops each concerned with a different area of violence in America. The document includes an introduction by Annette Zimmern Reed and opening remarks by Dallas mayor Starke Taylor and his wife, Carolyn Taylor. Information from the three symposia is given in the areas of violence as a special health problem for minorities, issues related to victims of violence, and the costs of violence, and its impact on future legislation. The eight issues examined by the workshops were child sexual abuse, child abuse, elder abuse, spouse abuse, assault and homicide, rape and sexual assault, suicide, and injuries due to risk-taking behavior. Also included is information from a panel discussion on regional data collection and analysis. Addresses and academic papers from the proceedings include: (1) "Violence as a Health Problem in the Southwest" (Shervert Frazier); (2) "Life Cycle of Violence" (Larry Herbert); (3) "Selected Issues of Violence" (Herbert Nickens); (4) "Violence as a National Health Problem" (Faye Abdellah); (5) "Victims of Violence" (Kern Wildenthal and Lois Haight Herrington); (6) "Homicide and Assaultive Violence" (Keith Harries); (7) "Learning from Patterns of Violence" (Joseph Warshaw and Mark Rosenberg); (8) "Criminal Homicide and Assault: A Criminological Perspective" (Paul Blackman); (9) "Violence as a Health Problem: The Example of Child Abuse and Family Violence: The Alcohol Connection" (Jerry Flanzer); (10) "The Emergency Medical Response to Violent Crime Victims" (Roy Allen); (11) "Spouse Abuse" (Anne Helton, Elizabeth Anderson, and Judith McFarlane); (12) "Medical Costs of Violence to Taxpayers in Harris County, Texas: Pilot Study" (Louis DeNino); and (13) "A Violence Monitoring and Surveillance System for the Southwest Region: A Research and Demonstration Project" (Linda Lloyd). An address by steering committee chairman Robert McGovern, the program schedule, biographies of participants, and a list of convention-planning pointers are appended. (NB)