Abstract
Data on spouse support, family environment (cohesion and conflict), worries and depressed mood, parental coping, financial resources, and employment status were recorded longitudinally by means of questionnaires among Swiss first-time parents. The first data collection was administered when the firstborn child was aged between two and six months, the second one year later. Both mothers (n = 164) and fathers (n = 164) completed separate questionnaires. Structural equation models suggested both cross-sectional and longitudinal effects of cohesion, conflicts, and partner support on parental coping and worries/mood. Additional LISREL analyses revealed that both mothers' perceptions of family resources and their worries/mood were affected by the couples' satisfaction with division of labour (SWDL), and that the latter was related to the perception of financial resources. Among fathers, these findings were paralleled with respect to the impact of SWDL on perceived family resources but SWDL did not affect worries/mood.