The current study is based on a proposed conceptual framework of occupational stress which specifies that protective and vulnerability personality traits influence job-related affective strains (JRAS) by means of direct, indirect mediation, and moderating mechanisms. JRAS were conceptualized in terms of a circumplex model including valence and arousal dimensions. Data for the personality, job stressor, and job strain variables were collected at one point time. Structural equation modeling analyses indicated that vulnerability traits operated through the direct, indirect mediation, and moderating pathways, whereas protective traits operated through direct and indirect mediation pathways only. The findings also suggested that all areas of JRAS mediate the effects of job stressor perceptions on the dysfunctional work outcome emotional exhaustion. Practical implications for stress management interventions are discussed
