The contribution is a review of the psychological literature about emotional competence in prescholar and scholar maltreated children with a particular focus on emotional understanding and emotional regulation. After a brief presentation of the adaptive functions of emotional competence, are presented and discussed the main results of studies conducted in familiar maltreating contexts, showing an overall framework still not consistent and conclusive. Particular emphasis is also given to the possible variables that may influence the relationship between maltreatment and emotional competence and to the interpretative hypothesis of the results obtained proposed within the different theoretical approaches.
Keywords: Maltreatment, social adjustment, emotional competence, development, emotional regulation.