Relations among Prenatal Role Quality, Life Satisfaction, and Dual-Earner Parents’ Postnatal Depression

: Relations between prenatal role quality and dual-earner parents’ postnatal
depression are rarely studied. We prospectively examined relations among prenatal role quality, life satisfaction,
and dual-earner parents’ depression after the birth of their first child. Ninety-nine couples provided data between
20 and 40 weeks gestation and 8 and 10 postnatal weeks. We tested two hypotheses: 1) Mothers’ prenatal
depression would increase postnatally compared with fathers’ and 2) Greater prenatal work-family strain, role
disparity and intensity, and less life satisfaction would relate to greater postnatal depression. Fathers’ pre- to
postnatal depression increased while mothers’ decreased. Poorer role quality and less life satisfaction were
associated with increased postnatal depression, after controlling for prenatal depression, age, and gender. KEY
WORDS: dual-earners, depression, role quality, transition to parenting.