The girls with high levels of adrenal maturation and early maturation had the highest scores on emotional arousal and depressive affect. High levels of adrenal maturation alone did not predict emotional arousal or depressive affect. Rather the interaction of adrenal maturation and early puberty were required to produce the higher depressive effect. The effect of early puberty on depression was linked to heightened emotional arousal. Aggression was linked to hormonal increases that were in turn linked to negative life events and possibly attention difficulties. Prior studies have found that girls experience more negative events as they go through puberty, which is linked to depression. The 100 girls were from well-educated, middle-class to upper-middle class families. They attended private schools in a major northeastern urban area. The sample was recruited from a larger cross-sectional study of girls' development during adolescence. The girls completed questionnaires on several aspects of their psychosocial functioning. Physical examinations were conducted by a nurse practitioner or a physician to assess level of pubertal development. A blood sample was drawn for hormonal assays. The measured mediators for adjustment outcome (depressive affect and aggression) were emotional arousal, attention difficulties, and negative life events experienced in the past 6 months. Negative events covered experiences in the family, school, and peer domains. 1 table, 2 figures, and 34 references