PURPOSE: The purpose of this presentation is to present findings from a systematic literature review conducted to examine the relationship between self-esteem and violence perpetration, aggression, or bullying behaviors of youth/adolescents. This review seeks to answer the questions: a) is self-esteem associated with youth/adolescent violence? and b) if so, what is the nature of the association? BACKGROUND: For years, health professionals, educators, and psychologists believed low self-esteem was an important predictor of violence. However, there is considerable debate about 1) whether self-esteem is actually correlated with violence and, if it is, 2) how the two variables are related. Because many violence prevention programs seek to boost youths’ self-esteem, thereby reducing the likelihood of violence perpetration, one goal of this review is to examine the empirical support (or lack thereof) for this programmatic focus. METHODS: Five electronic databases (ERIC, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Sociological Abstracts, and Academic Search Premier) were searched using self-esteem (and related concepts) connected through Boolean connectors with violence, aggression, and bullying. The reference lists of retrieved articles were also searched for relevant studies. To be included in this review, studies had to meet the following inclusion criteria: be published in a peer-reviewed, English language journal; empirically examine the relationship between self-esteem and violence perpetration, aggression, and/or bullying behaviors; be published between 1990-2004; and focus on primary/secondary school-aged youth/adolescents. Excluded from this review were studies not exploring the association between self-esteem and violence (for instance, if studies only conducted pre-/post-intervention tests to assess changes in each variable), studies involving adults/college students, and theoretical/commentary pieces. Twenty-six studies were identified that met the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Each study’s findings (one study may have had multiple findings) were classified by the nature of the self-esteem/violence relationship being tested (inverse relationship, no significant relationship, or positive relationship). RESULTS: Sixty-nine individual findings were abstracted from the 26 studies. More than half of all findings yielded no significant relationship between self-esteem and violence perpetration, aggression, or bullying behaviors. One-third of the findings yielded an inverse relationship (e.g., adolescents with low self-esteem were more likely to report violence), and 13% yielded a positive relationship. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Although one-third of findings yielded an inverse relationship, more than half of all findings revealed no relationship between self-esteem and youths’ perpetration of violence, aggression, or bullying behaviors. This evidence suggests the need for staffs and planners of violence prevention programs for youth and adolescents to re-think the emphasis being placed on self-esteem.