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

September 28, 2023

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

Findings from the May 2023 American Perspectives Survey

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 Continue Reading →

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

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. Continue Reading →

Photo of President Joseph R. Biden and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

July 28, 2022

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

The Democratic Party has experienced seismic demographic changes over the past few decades; becoming less Christian, more liberal, more educated, and more racially and ethnically diverse. These changes profoundly impact the Democratic Party’s future political priorities and electoral fortunes. Continue Reading →

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.

January 4, 2022

Why The Republican Party Isn’t Concerned With Popularity

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? Continue Reading →

Photo of children holding American flags. There are six children, four are girls, three of the girls are wearing hijab.

May 5, 2021

Did Americans Become More Accepting of Muslims During the Trump Years?

At a time of heightened racial tensions in the US and growing violence against Asian citizens, it is not clear why there would be a sudden surge in positive feeling towards Muslims. Continue Reading →

Photo of the dome of the capitol. Beside it, is the silhouette of a hiker.

March 8, 2021

Few Americans are Confident in American Democracy, But Younger Americans are Especially Skeptical

If governments can effectively administer the COVID-19 vaccine and deliver economic support, it will go a long way in demonstrating that even if government is clunky and the results imperfect, the institutions of democratic governance can work. Continue Reading →

October 27, 2020

Our Media Bubbles Reflect a Larger Problem of Political Segregation

A new study finds Republican trust in conservative media outlets is closely tied to the political composition of their friendship network. Continue Reading →

October 26, 2020

What’s Going on with Republican Women?

Their radicalization, Trumpism, and the rise of ‘pastel QAnon.’

It is easy to discount QAnon—but the reality is it is quickly emerging from the shadows into a full-blown political movement that periodically receives the passive, and at times, active support of the president of the United States. Continue Reading →

October 21, 2020

Don’t Believe the Trump Hype: Who is Actually Protesting in 2020

Even with COVID-19 dominating the news and people being asked to stay home and social distance, Americans are leaving their homes to protest the state of the nation ahead of the November Presidential election. Continue Reading →

Photo of a hand holding up a sign that says "We're not ovaryacting"

October 7, 2020

For Republicans, Abortion Attitudes Differ Depending on the Composition of Their Social Circle

Although abortion attitudes are highly polarized between the two parties and the issue remains contentious, among Republicans, views vary depending on their political networks. Continue Reading →

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Survey Reports

Daniel A. Cox
July 23, 2026

A Digital Divide in American Adolescence: Gender, Class, and the New Teenage Experience

If teenage years once represented a time of rebellion, teenagers’ lives today are marked less by pushing boundaries and more by building their own. Many teenage experiences are less common than they once were—dating, working a part-time job, and experimenting with drugs and alcohol are less common experiences. The 2026 American Teenagers Survey from the Continue Reading →

Daniel A. Cox, Jae Grace, Avery Shields
April 27, 2026

Strangers Next Door: The Decline of Neighborhood Socializing and the Class Divide in Belonging

Acknowledgment The American Enterprise Institute’s Survey Center on American Life is grateful to the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation for its generous support of this research. As Americans spend more of their time online, the neighborhood—once a primary physical location for real-world socialization—is playing less of a central role than ever before. Since Continue Reading →