This symposium addressed key findings of the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development-sponsored book "Promoting the Health of Adolescents: New Directions for the Twenty-First Century." A panel of experts focused on science policy implications of critical issues in adolescent health promotion that have proven difficult to address such as the effects of poverty, adolescent sexuality, and violence. Included on the panel were experts from Canada and Mexico who provided an international perspective on adolescent health promotion. Following an introduction by Elena O. Nightingale, special advisor to the President, Carnegie Corporation of New York, the following chapters are presented: (1) "Historical Perspective on Adolescent Health Promotion"; (2) "Health-Enhancing and Health Compromising Behaviors during Adolescence" (Delbert S. Elliott); (3) "Poverty, Health, and Adolescent Health Promotion" (William Julius Wilson); (4) "Promoting Healthy Adolescent Sexuality" (Herant Katchadourian); (5) "Promoting Safety and Nonviolent Conflict Resolution in Adolescence" (Mark L. Rosenberg); and (6) "Cross-National Perspectives; Views of Adolescent Health Promotion from Canada and Mexico" (Ivan B. Pless--Canadian Perspective, Anameli Monroy--Mexican Perspective). In his concluding remarks, David A. Hamburg, President, Carnegie Corporation of New York, states that most risky behavior is still tentative and exploratory. There is, therefore, an opportunity for preventive interventions, provided that individual development, the social context of development, and the biological variability that makes different individuals more or less vulnerable to different kinds of environmental insults are understood. Research can offer important insights for the construction of more rational preventive interventions. (LL)