The purpose of this article is to investigate the use of coping styles in pedophiles (n = 25) and how that use might differ in nonoffending victims (n= 22) and a control group from the general population (n = 23). TheWays of Coping Questionnaire is employed for this purpose. The results indicate significant differences. The pedophiles, although employing positive coping strategies with the same frequency as the other two groups, also employ significantly more negative coping strategies than the other two groups; namely, escape-avoidance, distancing, and confrontive coping. The victims use escape-avoidance more frequently than the controls but less frequently than the pedophiles, but primarily they use positive coping strategies to deal with their interpersonal problems. These findings are discussed in terms of the difficulties that the use of negative coping strategies combined with insecure attachment could cause in the development of a therapeutic relationship. Psychological approaches for engaging pedophiles in treatment are also discussed.
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