Internal representations of self and primary attachment figures may be one mechanism bywhich maltreatment affects children's interpersonal behavior and relationships with others.Research on the continuity and influence of maltreated children's attachmentrepresentations, however, has not included youngsters removed from abusive or neglectful homeenvironments. This paper examines the influence of maltreated children's maternal andself-representations on subsequent relationships with foster mothers and behavioral adjustment infoster care. Participants included 32 children, ages 9–13 years, who entered fosterplacement for the first time after a sustained relationship with a maltreating biological mother.Upon initially entering foster care, children's maternal and self-representations weresignificantly related to each other and to severity of maltreatment history but not to other factorsbelieved to influence the quality of parent–child relationship (e.g., maternal mental health,partner stability). In addition, these representations significantly predicted children'ssubsequent views of their relationships with foster mothers. Finally, children's behavior intheir foster homes was associated with maltreatment severity, internal representations assessed atentry into foster care, and to concurrent perceptions of their new foster mothers. These findingsadvance our understanding of foster placement's role in maltreated children'sdevelopment and provide preliminary insight into the processes associated with the formation ofpotentially compensatory relationships.