A black and white photo of a man and woman sitting back-to-back in a train car.

We Live in a Nation of Strangers. That Needs to Change

Deseret News

Daniel A. Cox March 13, 2022

Diversity is not the source of our current problems; our troubling incuriosity about our neighbors is driving disconnection.

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

Photo of a now-hiring sign

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.

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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.  

Photo of U.S. President Joseph R. Biden

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.

Survey Reports

Generation Z and the Transformation of American Adolescence Cover Image

Daniel A. Cox, Kelsey Eyre Hammond, Kyle Gray
November 9, 2023

Generation Z and the Transformation of American Adolescence: How Gen Z’s Formative Experiences Shape Its Politics, Priorities, and Future

This report explores the foundational differences between American generations through their formative adolescent experiences.

Young man sitting in a dark room before a wall featuring various conspiracy theory-related items illuminated by a computer screen

Daniel A. Cox, M. Anthony Mills, Ian R. Banks, Kelsey Eyre Hammond, Kyle Gray
September 28, 2023

America’s Crisis of Confidence: Rising Mistrust, Conspiracies, and Vaccine Hesitancy After COVID-19

America is experiencing a crosscutting crisis of expertise and scientific distrust accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic that poses significant challenges to democratic debate and public decision-making

A cartoon showing a vibrant office from the ceiling view.

Daniel A. Cox, Brent Orrell, Kyle Gray, Jessie Wall
September 14, 2023

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

The Social Workplace, Volume II examines Americans’ expectations and experiences surrounding work, the workplace, and key job-related priorities such as pay and interpersonal connections.

An empty debate stage featuring red and blue podiums below a stage light face an audience of nearly-empty seats.

Daniel A. Cox, Ruy Teixeira
June 29, 2023

The 2024 Presidential Election: Evolving Political Coalitions and Familiar Partisan Divisions

Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, the AEI Survey Center on American Life conducted a national survey of Americans that explored a wide range of political attitudes, current voting preferences, and perceptions of the political parties.