The study contributes to the understanding of the societal impact of the
coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in the Global South by examining longer term
implications of pandemic-induced disruptions and deprivations for social ties
and psychosocial well-being. Using data from a survey of middle-aged women in
rural Mozambique, the author finds a negative association between the
pandemic-triggered household economic decline and perceived changes in the
quality of relations with marital partners, non-coresident children, and
relatives, but not with generally more distant actors, such as coreligionists
and neighbors. In turn, multivariable analyses detect a positive association of
changes in the quality of family and kin ties with participants’ life
satisfaction, regardless of other factors. Yet women’s expectations for changes
in their household living conditions in the near future show a significant
association only with changes in the quality of relations with marital partners.
The author situates these findings within the context of women’s enduring
vulnerabilities in low-income patriarchal settings.