Each child was asked to choose a facial expression for the child portrayed in each of 20 brief emotion stories. Then, pairs of maltreated and nonmaltreated children were observed during a brief play period designed to provoke conflict between the participants. The nonmaltreated group was better able to identify facial expressions, both pure and masked, then the maltreated group. The results showed that the maltreated children made fewer attempts to prevail during the play session and, when resisting their partners' attempt to get the play object, tended to smile more and avoid using negative upper face expressions than their counterparts. When the maltreated children were thwarted in their attempt to obtain the play object, they waited longer to try again than did the nonmaltreated group. Overall, maltreated children showed signs of withdrawal rather than aggression. However, they were eager to engage in a play interaction in which a limited resource was equitably shared. 2 tables and 39 references