This study investigated the social cognitive abilities, social adjustment, and self-esteem of maltreated preschoolers and those at risk for abuse. Subjects were 12 maltreated children, 22 children at risk for abuse, and 22 control children. Children completed the Social Problem Solving Test--Revised, a test of Attributed Intentions and Aggressive Response Bias, and the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence in Preschoolers (PSPCP). Parents competed the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Analysis revealed that abused children were significantly more negative in their attributions about a peer's intentions, and were more aggressive in their response bias than at-risk and control group children. Abused children also had higher aggression and peer rejection scores on the CBCL than at-risk or control children. Abused and at-risk children were less flexible in solving friendship stories, and generated fewer relevant solutions than control children, although these differences were not significant. Significant intercorrelations were found between children's self-ratings on the PSPCP and social problem solving, and social adjustment measures. (MM)