Thousands of protesters gathered at Mc Carren Park in Brooklyn on June 7, 2020 for a massive march around Williamsburg, making a loud call for the defunding of the police force. This comes after NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio promised 'intense change' with police reform proposals amid calls to defund law enforcement, including shifting resources from NYPD and publicizing officers' disciplinary records. (Photo by Erik McGregor/Sipa USA)No Use UK. No Use Germany.

Why Are White Liberals So Pessimistic About Politics?

FiveThirtyEight

Daniel A. Cox February 23, 2022

No one seems happy about politics these days – but White Liberals are uniquely pessimistic.

The upper torso of a white woman with her hand crossed over her heart. She is wearing a black jacket and red collared shirt. Around her neck is a large gold necklace of the Republican Party elephant.

Why The Republican Party Isn’t Concerned With Popularity

FiveThirtyEight

Daniel A. Cox January 4, 2022

Despite the fact that the GOP is quite unpopular and that much of its current agenda, the party is in an enviable position heading into the 2022 midterm elections and beyond. Why?

A close up of a blinking lit red emergency vehicle light on top of a police car.

Why Crime Likely Won’t Be An Issue In The 2022 Midterms

FiveThirtyEight

Daniel A. Cox November 29, 2021

Violent crime is up. Data from the FBI found that the murder rate increased nearly 30 percent in 2020. And homicides continue to rise in 2021 as well, if not by quite as much. Americans have noticed. A Gallup poll released in November 2020 found that 78 percent of Americans thought that the national crime rate was higher than the year

We Asked Hundreds of Unemployed Americans What’s Keeping Them Out of Work — It’s Not Unemployment Benefits

Insider

Daniel A. Cox, Brent Orrell July 25, 2021

The Survey Center for American Life’s new survey shows a difference in needs between the pandemic unemployed and the chronically unemployed. Continue reading on Insider

Just-married couple gets off a party bus while bridal party celebrates them

Can Married Men and Women be Friends? Marriage, Friendship, and Loneliness

Institute for Family Studies

Daniel A. Cox July 20, 2021

The time we invest on our relationships, whether it is with a partner, spouse, or a friend, is likely the most important thing we can do to ensure a long, healthy, and fulfilling life.

Silhouette of a young man standing outside an apartment window

American Men Suffer a Friendship Recession

National Review

Daniel A. Cox July 6, 2021

After a prolonged period of social isolation, Americans are dusting off their social calendars. But as Americans try to rebuild and reconnect, a new survey conducted by the Survey Center on American Life finds that the social landscape is far less favorable than it once was.

COVID-19 vaccination stickers sit in waiting during the Columbus Public Health drop-in clinic at Stonewall Columbus in the Short

Peer Pressure, Not Politics, May Matter Most When it Comes to Getting the COVID-19 Vaccine

FiveThirtyEight

Daniel A. Cox June 29, 2021

Americans experience widely different levels of social pressure to get the COVID-19 vaccine. And for better or worse, our friends exercise considerable influence over the information we have and the decisions we make.

A group adults sit in a backyard while one of them barbeques.

Suburbs Are Not Less Social Than Cities

AEIdeas

Samuel J. Abrams June 8, 2021

Many believe there are meaningful differences in sociability based on where Americans reside. New data from AEI’s Survey Center on American Life counters this narrative and finds little difference in the social lives of urbanites, suburbanites, and their rural counterparts.  

Biden’s Push For Big Government Solutions is Popular Now — But it Could Backfire

FiveThirtyEight

Daniel A. Cox May 5, 2021

In the wake of a once-in-a-generation pandemic that has required sustained national intervention and leadership, Americans may be coming around to the benefits of big government.

Support for Political Violence Among Americans is on the Rise. It’s a Grim Warning About America’s Political Future.

Business Insider

Daniel A. Cox March 26, 2021

In the wake of the Capitol uprising, we have been forced to reckon with the uncomfortable truth that political violence is no longer a theoretical concern.

In the news

January 26, 2023

As US Reels from Multiple Mass Shootings in California, Can Loneliness be a Trigger for Violence?

January 22, 2023

Losing their Religion: Why US Churches are on the Decline

January 20, 2023

Coming to Terms with Being Non-Binary has Been Scary—and Freeing

January 21, 2023

The Alarming Rise of Dangerous Speech

Survey Reports

Red leather-bound Qur'an on a wooden table with prayer beads and a light blue surgical mask draped over top.

Lindsey Witt-Swanson, Jennifer Benz, Daniel A. Cox
January 5, 2023

Faith After the Pandemic: How COVID-19 Changed American Religion

The Survey Center on American Life at AEI teamed up with researchers at NORC at the University of Chicago to measure religious affiliation and attendance both before the pandemic (2018 to March 2020) and again in spring 2022, revealing who remained at the pews, who returned to the pews, and who left.

Brent Orrell, Daniel A. Cox, Jessie Wall
October 25, 2022

The Social Workplace: Social Capital, Human Dignity, and Work in America

Why is work, more often than not, the center of life for Americans? Explore the social dimension of work and the role it plays in building human connections and strengthening social capital.

Karlyn Bowman, Daniel A. Cox
October 4, 2022

Gender, Generation and Abortion: Shifting Politics and Perspectives After Roe

Three months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the issue of abortion continues to garner widespread public attention.

Daniel A. Cox
July 28, 2022

The Democratic Party’s Transformation: More Diverse, Educated, and Liberal but Less Religious

The Democratic party has experienced a lot if change in recent years, where is this change most prominent in the days leading up to 2022 midterms?