W. Bradford Wilcox

Work Wilcox has authored and edited several books, and published numerous articles on marriage, fatherhood, parenting, and religion. His work has appeared in the American Sociological Review, Social Forces, and The Journal of Marriage and Family. New York Times columnist David Brooks called the book "vitally important." "As a culture, we could improve our national happiness levels by making sure people focus most on what is primary — marriage and intimate relationships — and not on what is important but secondary — their career," Brooks writes. But another writer in the Times wrote that Wilcox—along with Brooks and others who urge more marriages—"fails to engage with the reality on the ground that heterosexual women from many walks of life confront: the state of men today... A more granular look at what the reality of dating looks and feels like for straight women can go a long way toward explaining why marriage rates are lower than policy scholars would prefer."

Wilcox has been a strong proponent of the success sequence, arguing that data show that people who graduate high school, get a full-time job, and have children after marriage are consequently less likely to be poor. Critics argue that scholars like Wilcox pay too little attention to social structures that stymie individual efforts to escape poverty. The data supporting the success sequence reflect selection effects rather than causation, in their view: it demonstrates that advantaged young adults are more likely to graduate, get a job, and have children in wedlock—but it does not necessarily prove that people who graduate, get a job, and have children in wedlock will become successful. by Mark Regnerus, "How Different Are the Adult Children of Parents Who Have Same-Sex Relationships? Findings from the New Family Structures Study". Wilcox was the director of the Program on Family, Marriage and Democracy at the Witherspoon Institute, which funded Regnerus's study. The study was much criticized for its methodology and for allegations that it was shaped by funds from politically conservative organizations.

Writing and testimony Wilcox's research on marriage, religion, and family life has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, USA Today, Slate, The Huffington Post, National Review Online, National Journal, National Public Radio, CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, NBC's The Today Show, and numerous other media outlets. His work is also regularly cited in academic publications.

In February 2015, Wilcox testified before the House Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Human Resources about the challenges low-income families face in today's economy.

Wilcox contributed a piece to The Atlantic in June 2023 that describes the growing political polarization of the sexes and what it means for the future of marriage. In August 2023, Wilcox wrote a piece for UnHerd based on research from the University of Chicago finding a 30-percentage-point happiness divide between married and unmarried Americans. In November 2021, Wilcox contributed a piece to the Wall Street Journal describing how Glenn Youngkin's victory in the Virginia gubernatorial race edged the Republican Party further toward becoming "the parents' party."