A study compared 55 court-adjudicated physically maltreated children between 8 and 12 years of age with 56 nonmaltreated children of the same ages with respect to their feelings about trust in peers. All maltreated children were residents of group homes and were of primarily lower and middle income economic background, from four ethnic backgrounds, while the nonmaltreated children were from Los Angeles public schools and were of ethnic and economic background similar to the maltreated children. As part of an interview, subjects heard two trust scenarios--one involving a promise and the other a secret--and indicated whether they would trust and share with a peer. They were asked to give reasons for their decisions and to tell how they would feel in the scenario. Findings were consistent with clinical observations: (1) compared to nonmaltreated children, maltreated children were more mistrusting and also tended to show an all-or-nothing pattern of trust; (2) maltreated children were more likely to refuse to share, but when they did share, they tended to do so without qualification; whereas, nonmaltreated children tended to qualify whether they would share; (3) compared to nonmaltreated children, maltreated children's reasons about trusting or mistrusting in the scenario indicated diminished concern with affect, the interpersonal relationship, and the future, and somewhat heightened concern with the past; and (4) maltreated and nonmaltreated children's affective responses to the trust scenarios did not differ significantly. (AC)