Findings of a study of a nonclinical sample of 30 kindergarten children and elementary school students in foster care suggest that few had mastered many of the fundamental psychosocial tasks of childhood. Primary measures were obtained by administering the Task of Emotional Development test (TED) -- a picture projective test designed to index children's mastery of growth issues. The percentage of foster children demonstrating mastery of each TED task was determined, as well as the correlation between mastery on each task and subjects' ages, IQ scores, and number of foster care placements. The most pervasive developmental problems seemed to be that few of the children deny themselves chances to immediately seize opportunities for personal pleasure, regardless of the acceptability of their actions to others. Mother-child conflict was a frequent element in the themes projected by the children. Children seldom identified with members of a nuclear family, rarely manifested identification of sibling relationships, identification with parent sex-roles, or acceptance of adult values as their own. Children who had experienced a greater number of foster placements, however, were more likely to demonstrate mastery of psychosocial tasks in several areas, a finding that was independent of the age of the child. (Author/RH)