Attitudes toward violence & reasons for living in young adolescents with high, moderate, & low self-esteem were examined. The results of analyses showed that for dependent variable attitudes toward violence, main effects were found for both gender & self-esteem. For dependent variable reasons for living, a main effect was found for self-esteem but not for gender. An inverse relationship was found between violence & reasons for living. Low self-esteem was significantly related to fewer reasons for living. (65 refs)