Moderated mediations of occupational stress on mental health: the different roles of resilience and coping

A comprehensive understanding of how occupational stress contributes to mental health requires considering the interrelationships among stress, risk, and protective factors. Resilience is a key protective factor, yet its relation to other protective factors – especially coping – remains unclear. A cross-sectional online study was conducted in which occupational stressors were assessed by perceived intensity and frequency, alongside resilience and adaptive and maladaptive coping. Using moderation, mediation, and moderated mediation analyses, differential links to mental health outcomes were examined. Results showed that, for both stressor intensity and frequency, stress effects on mental health were buffered by resilience and mediated by both adaptive and maladaptive coping, largely as expected. In combined moderated mediations, resilience moderated the mediation of maladaptive coping only for stressor intensity. Notably, adaptive coping showed an inconsistent role across intercorrelations, and the path between stressor frequency and adaptive coping was negatively moderated by resilience – indicating that higher resilience reduced the extent to which frequent stressors were associated with greater use of adaptive coping. These findings clarify the distinct functions of stress-related factors at work and suggest different conceptual and practical approaches. Resilience appears to buffer against maladaptive coping strategies and reduce the need for adaptive coping—suggesting that resilient individuals may require less coping overall, and particularly fewer adaptive efforts under certain conditions. Accordingly, coping and resilience should be treated as distinct, non-interchangeable constructs in assessment and intervention. Future research should further specify their interrelations and additional moderators and clarify boundary conditions to guide targeted workplace mental health strategies.