Aims: To test whether patients with temporomandibular disorder (TMD) pain differ from subjects from the general population with regard to their stress-related coping styles. Methods: Consecutive adult TMD patients (n = 70) and adult subjects of a regional general population sample (n = 868), examined according to the German version of the Research Diagnostic Criteria for TMD (RDC/TMD), were included in this study. The inclusion criterion for TMD patients was at least one pain-related diagnosis according to the RDC/ TMD, while general-population subjects were excluded if they had any pain-related TMD diagnosis. Coping styles were assessed using a common and well-accepted German 114-item stress-coping questionnaire (“Stressverarbeitungsfragebogen” SVF 114). The coping style–TMD pain relationship was investigated using logistic regression analyses adjusted for possible confounders (age, sex, level of education), as well as the influence of psychosocial measures (RDC/ TMD Axis II). Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. Results: Study participants who used fewer adaptive coping styles (OR = 0.47, CI: 0.26–0.83) and more maladaptive coping styles (OR = 1.55, CI: 1.05–2.29) were at greater risk for TMD pain. After adjustment for sociodemographic confounders, the coping style–TMD pain relationship changed only slightly in magnitude. In an analysis adjusted for sociodemographic confounders and psychosocial RDC/TMD Axis II measures, adaptive coping styles were even more profoundly related to TMD pain (OR: 0.27, 95 CI: 0.09–0.83), but maladaptive coping styles were less related to TMD pain (OR: 1.17, 95% CI: 0.51–2.72). Conclusion: Differences in the applied stress-related coping styles of TMD patients and subjects without TMD may have implications for clinical decisionmaking and choosing among treatment alternatives. J OROFAC PAIN 2012;26:181–190

Key words: coping, stress, temporomandibular disorders