People
William G Axinn
Research Professor; Training Faculty
Professor of Sociology, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, Research Professor, Survey Research Center, Research Professor, Population Studies Center, Institute for Social Research and Professor of Public Policy, Gerald R Ford School of Public Policy
Professor of Sociology, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, Research Professor, Survey Research Center, Research Professor, Population Studies Center, Institute for Social Research and Professor of Public Policy, Gerald R Ford School of Public Policy
Research Interests:
Dr. Axinn is professor of survey research, population studies, sociology and public policy at the University of Michigan. Axinn is a social demographer studying community, intergenerational, and social psychological influences on marriage, childbearing, reproductive health, mental health and the natural environment. He is former director of Michigan’s Survey Research Center with an active program of methodological research on longitudinal studies, survey data collection and mixed method studies. He is director of the Chitwan Valley Family Study (CVFS), a 28-year, mixed method longitudinal study in Nepal.
Select Projects
- National Campus Climate Survey
- A More Efficient Web-Based Approach to Collecting National Family, Fertility and Reproductive Health Data
- Interdisciplinary Research Training Program for International Population Science
- Understanding the Connections among Genes, Environment, Family Processes, and Mental Health
- Development Core
- A New Population-Scale Approach for the Study of Psychological Stress in the Transition to Adulthood
- Intergenerational Influences on Marriage, Contraception and Childbearing
Select Publications
- Banchoff,Emma, William G Axinn, Dirgha Jibi Ghimire, Kate M. Scott. 2025. Intergenerational associations of maternal depression with daughters’ family formation. Journal of Marriage and Family 87(2):415-436.
- William G Axinn, Brady Thomas West, Schroeder,Heather Marie, Laura D. Lindberg. 2025. Pandemic changes in U.S. contraceptive use: National survey estimates reveal significant differences by demographic subgroups. Contraception 142:110723.
- Bruffaerts, Ronny, William G Axinn. 2024. Associations Between Forced Intercourse and Subsequent Depression Among Women in the U.S. General Population. Archives of Sexual Behavior 53:471-480.
- William G Axinn, Banchoff,Emma, Dirgha Jibi Ghimire, Scott, Kate M.. 2024. Parental depression and their Children’s marriage timing: The long-term consequences of parental mental disorders. Social Science & Medicine 347:116745.
- Ronny Bruffaerts, Kelsi Caywood, William G Axinn. 2024. Early life risk factors for depression among young adults in the United States general population: Attributable risks and gender differences. Journal of affective disorders 363:206-213.
- Karmel W. Choi, Justin D. Tubbs, Younga H. Lee, Yixuan He, Kristin Tsuo, Mary T. Yohannes, Lethukuthula L. Nkambule, Emily Madsen, Dirgha Jibi Ghimire, Sabrina Hermosilla, Tian Ge, Alicia R. Martin, William G Axinn, Jordan W. Smoller. 2024. Genetic architecture and socio-environmental risk factors for major depressive disorder in Nepal. Psychological Medicine 54(11):3126-3134.
- Brady Thomas West, Mick Couper, William G Axinn, Wagner,James Robert, Gatward,Rebecca, Saw, Htay-Wah, Zhang,Shiyu. 2024. Toward a New Approach to Creating Population-Representative Data for Demographic Research. Demography 61(6):1759–1791.
- Htay-Wah Saw, Brady Thomas West, Mick Couper, William G Axinn. 2024. What Predicts Willingness to Participate in a Follow-up Panel Study among Respondents to a National Web/Mail Survey?. Field Methods 36(3)
- Zhang,Shiyu, Brady Thomas West, Wagner,James Robert, Mick Couper, Gatward,Rebecca, William G Axinn. 2023. Visible Cash, a Second Incentive, and Priority Mail? An Experimental Evaluation of Mailing Strategies for a Screening Questionnaire in a National Push-To-Web/Mail Survey. Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology 11(5):1011-1031.
- Paula M. Lantz, Katherine Michelmore, Michelle H. Moniz, Okeoma Mmeje, William G Axinn, Kayte Spector-Bagdady. 2023. Abortion Policy in the United States: The New Legal Landscape and Its Threats to Health and Socioeconomic Well-Being. The Milbank Quarterly 101(S1):283-301.