Objective: To explore the relationships between psychological symptoms and thyroid hormone levels in adolescent girls who had experienced the traumatic stress of sexual abuse. Method: The study design was cross-sectional/correlational. Subjects ("N"=22; age range=12-18 years) had their blood drawn, and they completed 2 psychological tests (depression and general distress/posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD]). A pediatrician completed a sexual abuse questionnaire after reviewing law enforcement and Child Protective Services reports and conducting forensic interviews and medical examinations. Results: Girls' average free T[4], total T[4], free T[3], total T[3], and TSH levels were within age-specific laboratory reference range limits, as were most individual concentrations. The strongest correlations (p less than 0.05) were between free T[3] and PTSD total score (-0.50), PTSD--avoidance/numbing (-0.049), and general distress (-0.48); and between total T[3] and depression (-0.46), general distress (-0.45), and PTSD--arousal (-0.44). Conclusions: Our findings support one of the two contemporary models of the relationships between thyroid hormones (i.e., free and total T[3]) and psychological symptoms (i.e., depression, general distress, and PTSD)--one of "shutting down" (vs. "activation") in the face of trauma.