
W. Bradford Wilcox
Professor of Sociology
University of Virginia Sociology Department
Randall 201
P.O. Box 400766
Charlottesville, VA 22904
Sociology of Family, Sociology of Religion
W. Bradford Wilcox is Director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Family Studies, and a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
As an undergraduate, Wilcox was a Jefferson Scholar at the University of Virginia (’92) and later earned his Ph.D. from Princeton University. Prior to coming to the University of Virginia, he held research fellowships at Princeton University, Yale University, and the Brookings Institution.
The coauthor of Gender and Parenthood: Biological and Social Scientific Perspectives (Columbia, 2013, with Kathleen Kovner Kline), Professor Wilcox’s research has focused on marriage, fatherhood, and cohabitation, especially on the ways that family structure, civil society, and culture influence the quality and stability of family life in the United States and around the globe. Now, Dr. Wilcox is exploring the contribution that families make to the economic welfare of individuals and societies. He is also the coauthor of Whither the Child?: Causes and Consequences of Low Fertility (Paradigm, 2013, with Eric Kaufmann) and the author of Soft Patriarchs, New Men: How Christianity Shapes Fathers and Husbands (Chicago, 2004). Wilcox has published articles on marriage, cohabitation, parenting, and fatherhood in The American Sociological Review, Social Forces, The Journal of Marriage and Family and The Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. Wilcox is now writing a book with Nicholas Wolfinger titled, Soul Mates: Religion, Sex, Children, & Marriage among African Americans and Latinos (Oxford 2015).
Brad Wilcox has received the following two awards from the American Sociological Association Religion Section for his research: the Best Graduate Paper Award and the Best Article Award. His research has also been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, BBC News, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Boston Globe, CNN, The Los Angeles Times, CBS News, NBC's The Today Show, and on NPR. He also writes regularly for publications like The Wall Street Journal.
Bradford Wilcox teaches courses in statistics, family, and religion. You can follow Professor Wilcox @WilcoxNMP.
For his recent popular writings or articles about his work, see:
- Table 8A.1: Wilcox and Price Online Appendix For Unequal Family Lives (Cambridge, 2018)
- New York Times , June 2015, "The North-South Divide on Two-Parent Families"
- New York Times , June 2013, "Fathers are Not Fungible"
- The Atlantic, June 2013, "Unequal, Unfair, and Unhappy: The 3 Biggest Myths About Marriage Today"
- Wall Street Journal, March 2013, "The New Unmarried Moms"
- Washington Post, November 2012, "Parenting in Red, Blue and Purple America"
- The Atlantic, December 2011, " How to Keep Parenthood From Making Your Marriage Miserable"
- New York Times, August 2011, "A Shaky Foundation for Families"
- New York Times, July 2011, "Marriage Haves and Have-Nots"
- New York Times, June 2011, "Why the Ring Matters"
- Wall Street Journal, September 2010, "The Generation That Can't Move On Up"
- Wall Street Journal, June 2010, "Daddy Was Only a Donor"
Selected Publications
Books
-
Soft Patriarchs and New Men: How Christianity Shapes Fathers and Husbands
Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2004. -
W. Bradford Wilcox (Editor) and Kathleen Kovner Kline (Editor)
Gender and Parenthood: Biological and Social Scientific Perspectives
Columbia University Press, 2013. -
Eric Kaufmann (Editor) and W. Bradford Wilcox (Editor)
Whither the Child? Causes and Consequences of Low Fertility
Paradigm Press, 2013. -
W. Bradford Wilcox and Nicholas H. Wolfinger
Soul Mates: Religion, Sex, Love, and Marriage among African Americans and Latinos
Oxford University Press; 1 edition (February 1, 2016) -
W. Bradford Wilcox (Editor), Naomi Cahn (Editor, June Carbone (Editor) and Laurie F. DeRose (Editor)
Unequal Family Lives: Causes and Consequences in Europe and the Americas
Cambridge University Press, 2018.
Journal Articles
W. Bradford Wilcox. 2011. “If Momma Ain’t Happy: Explaining Declines in Marital Satisfaction Among New Mothers.” Journal of Marriage and Family 73: 1-12. (With Jeffrey Dew).
W. Bradford Wilcox 2011. “Motherhood and Marriage: A Response.” Journal of Marriage and Family 73: 29-32. (With Jeffrey Dew).
What's love got to do with it? Equality, equity, commitment and women's marital quality. Social Forces, vol. 84, no. 3, March 2006, pp. 1321-1345.
Happily Ever After?: Religion, Marital Status, Gender and Relationship Quality in Urban Families. Social Forces, vol. 86, no. 3, March 2008, pp. 1311-1337.
Measure of American Religion: Toward Improving the State of the Art, The; Steensland, Brian; Park, Jerry Z.; Regnerus, Mark D.; Robinson, Lynn D.; Wilcox, W. Bradford; Woodberry, Robert. 79 Social Forces. 291 (2000-2001)
Listing of top journal articles by W. Bradford Wilcox