Violence among American youth is a significant societal problem. The past decade witnessed juvenile arrests for violence, weapons, drugs, and curfew violations peak in the mid 90's. Analogous to the arrest trends for older juveniles, the arrest rate for young offenders rose 63% from 1987 until 1994 when it declined slightly. Since that time, national crime statistics indicate that adolescents and young adults are more likely to participate in violent behavior than individuals at any other age. Recent trends also indicate an increase in violence among female adolescents. Adolescent self-reports indicate violence continues at alarmingly high levels across race and sex. This study focuses primarily on the role of attachment, cognitive attributes (coping and problem solving) and socio-demographic characteristics as protective and risk factors. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the author examines attachment to family, parents, school and church as risk and protective factors associated with adolescent violence. The five outcomes examined in this study represent two different types of violent behavior; violence against property (shoplifting and burglary) and violence against persons (fighting, fighting resulting in serious injury, and shooting or stabbing someone). This study lends substantial evidence for the consistent role of attachment to family and school as protective factors across all five measures of self-reported violent behavior. In this study the multiple contexts in which attachment occurs (family, school, and parents), clearly demonstrated the protective effect of having strong relationships with these groups.