William Axinn

Leadership

William Axinn

Professor of Sociology and Professor of Public Policy (by courtesy)

William Axinn is the Ronald and Deborah Freedman Director of the International Hub at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research (ISR), Interim Director of the International Policy Center at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy,...

News

University of Michigan to lead landmark global mental health survey consortium, expanding to additional countries

Jan 15, 2026

The World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Consortium, which harnesses cross-national data to inform and support policies around education, interventions, and treatment, has now moved to the University of Michigan. This new phase is led by William Axinn, i...

University of Michigan to lead landmark global mental health survey consortium, expanding to additional countries

News

All in the family: U-M expert reflects on 5 decades focused on Nepal, from youth to leading 30-year study

Nov 7, 2025

When Bill Axinn's parents took him to Nepal in 1976 for their own work in agricultural and social development, he was "pretty upset to be missing seventh grade." Axinn's parents brought him to the then-isolated Chitwan Valley, and he went from being ...

All in the family: U-M expert reflects on 5 decades focused on Nepal, from youth to leading 30-year study

News

Axinn and Lantz continue to lead Ford School’s International Policy Center, expanding reach and student opportunities

Aug 27, 2025

William Axinn and Paula Lantz will continue their leadership of the Ford School’s International Policy Center (IPC) for the 2025-26 academic year. Together, they are poised to expand IPC’s impact, foster new global collaborations, and offer students ...

News

Propelling global social science innovations: U-M launches International Research Hub

Jun 5, 2025

The Institute for Social Research’s Survey Research Center and the Population Studies Center are teaming up to launch the International Research Hub. This new resource will support and expand social research worldwide. Located at PSC, the hub will su...

Propelling global social science innovations: U-M launches International Research Hub

State & Hill

Faculty Findings, fall 2024

Dec 17, 2024

Mental health and marriage timing Decades of research document powerful associations between parents’ characteristics and children’s marital behaviors. “Parental mental health strongly shapes or disrupts family life and long-term...

News

Axinn and Lantz to lead Ford School’s International Policy Center

Jul 11, 2024

William Axinn will serve as interim director of the Ford School’s International Policy Center (IPC) beginning on August 1, 2024. Paula Lantz will serve as interim associate director of IPC and focus on overseeing and leading a review of the Ford Scho...

Axinn and Lantz to lead Ford School’s International Policy Center

Benefits and challenges of digital mental health interventions for the treatment of anxiety and depression in university students

Mar 19, 2026, 4:00-5:15 pm EDT

Weill Hall 5240

Dr. Corina Benjet (National Institute of Psychiatry, Mexico City) will present findings and share insights from her experience implementing large-scale clinical trials of digital interventions for university students with anxiety and depression across eight universities in Latin America.

Student conversation with Dr. Corina Benjet (National Institute of Psychiatry, Mexico City)

Mar 18, 2026, 11:30 am-12:45 pm EDT

Weill Hall 3240

Join Dr. Corina Benjet for a discussion surrounding her global health career and the importance of research for her current work at the National Institute of Psychiatry in Mexico City.

Student Conversation with Dr. Karmel Choi (Precision Prevention Program)

Feb 3, 2026, 11:30 am-12:45 pm EST

Weill Hall 3240

Join Dr. Karmel Choi for a discussion surrounding her health career and the importance of research for her current work at the Precision Prevention Program.

Student Conversation with Dr. Karmel Choi (Precision Prevention Program)

Student conversation with Dr. Zeina Mneimneh (Child Mind Institute)

Jan 12, 2026, 11:30 am-12:45 pm EST

Weill Hall 3240

Join Dr. Zeina Mneimneh for a discussion surrounding her global health career and the importance of research for her current work at the Child Mind Institute.

Student conversation with Dr. Zeina Mneimneh (Child Mind Institute)

Drop-in office hours & lunch with Prof. William Axinn, Interim IPC Director

Sep 3, 2025, 11:30 am-12:30 pm EDT

Weill Hall, Frey Foundation Classroom (Room 1210)

Join Prof. William Axinn and Daniel Ellis, the International Policy Center’s (IPC’s) Interim Director and Assistant Director, respectively, for drop-in office hours and lunch! Learn more about Prof. Axinn’s work and IPC’s research and experiential learning opportunities.

Student conversation with Prof. William Axinn, Interim IPC Director

Apr 21, 2025, 11:30 am-12:30 pm EDT

Weill Hall 5240

Join Prof. William Axinn, International Policy Center (IPC) Interim Director, for an informal feedback session on this year’s center offerings.

Parental Mental Disorders and Children’s Sex and Contraception

Mar 12, 2025, 2:00-3:00 pm EDT

This webinar links the new Chitwan Valley Family Study-Young Adult Study (CVFS-YAS) continuous measures of sex and contraceptive use to the prior measures of parental mental health.

Nepal: Research to inform public policy in low-income countries

Feb 3, 2025, 11:30 am-12:30 pm EST

Weill Hall 3240

Join Dr. Dirgha Ghimire, Executive Director at the Institute for Social and Environmental Research - Nepal (ISER-N), for a conversation about ISER-N's research programming.

Ukrainian Children's Health and Wellbeing during War: Research to Guide Policy

Nov 11, 2024, 11:30 am-12:45 pm EST

Weill Hall 1210

During this seminar session, students will learn about recent research examining the health impacts of war on Ukraine’s children.

The CVFS Young Adult Study: Methods and Findings from a 30 Month, Frequent Interview, Study of Private Topics

Oct 16, 2024, 2:00-3:00 pm EDT

This webinar uses the new CVFS young adult study (YAS) to document the benefits of a mixed mode design for longitudinal studies.

Publications

Prevalence, persistence, and severity of 12-month and 30-day DSM-5 disorders in the World Mental Health Hong Kong Study

December 1, 2025

Corine S.M. Wong (The University of Hong Kong), et al., including William Axinn (University of Michigan)

BackgroundThe World Mental Health Hong Kong (WMHHK) Study aims to estimate 12-month and 30-day prevalence, persistence, severity, and correlates of DSM-5 anxiety, mood, and externalising disorders in Hong Kong, a densely populated city impacted by co...

Publications

Pandemic changes in U.S. contraceptive use: National survey estimates reveal significant differences by demographic subgroups

February 1, 2025

William Axinn (University of Michigan), Brady West (University of Michigan), Heather Schroeder (University of Michigan), Laura Lindberg (Rutgers University)

AbstractObjectivesThe COVID-19 pandemic brought multiple simultaneous consequences, with high potential to change fertility-related behaviors. We use nationally representative sex and contraceptive use event history calendar measures to demonstrate p...

Policy briefs

Social support programs reduce depression

January 1, 2024

William Axinn (University of Michigan); Institute for Social and Environmental Research–Nepal (ISER-Nepal)

Programs may cut depression prevalence in half : The discovery that neighborhood social support programs reduce depression in their local communities is important for many reasons. First, depression is the most prevalent mental disorder, with debilit...

Policy briefs

Programs and policies for mental health: High-Quality data

January 1, 2024

William Axinn (University of Michigan); Institute for Social and Environmental Research–Nepal (ISER-Nepal)

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a serious and common mental disorder worldwide. Not only does MDD limit a person’s ability to function, it also worsens many other health problems. For example, people with MDD may have difficulty following treatmen...

Policy briefs

Nepali resilience: Nepalese mental health in an international comparison

January 1, 2024

William Axinn (University of Michigan); Institute for Social and Environmental Research–Nepal (ISER-Nepal)

The people of Nepal experience many different sources of stress, but they have higher levels of positive mental health than those in wealthier countries. Nepali resilience is a source of both national pride and optimism, and mental health policies an...

Policy briefs

Women’s employment and child health

January 1, 2024

William Axinn (University of Michigan); Institute for Social and Environmental Research–Nepal (ISER-Nepal)

Increasing female participation in paid labor and child malnutrition The increase in female participation in the paid labor market is one of the most pronounced transitions that has occurred since the mid-1900s and is increasingly a global phenomeno...

Publications

Findings from the World Mental Health surveys of civil violence exposure and its association with subsequent onset and persistence of mental disorders

June 20, 2023

William Axinn (University of Michigan), Ronny Bruffaerts (Universitair Psychiatrisch Centrum KU Leuven), Timothy Kessler (Harvard Medical School), et al.

AbstractImportance Understanding the association of civil violence with mental disorders is important for developing effective postconflict recovery policies. Objective To estimate the association between exposure to civil violence and the subsequent...