- PhD Candidate, Sociology and Demography, The University of Texas at Austin
Matthew Blanton is a Ph.D. Candidate in Sociology and Demography at the University of Texas at Austin. His research focuses on migration and religion in Latin America, with peer-reviewed work published in top journals on topics including migrant family separation, post-migration mental health, and the political implications of religious change. His recent public scholarship includes pieces published in The Boston Globe and The Hill. Before entering academia, he led a nonprofit organization in Guatemala for five years and worked with the National Immigration Forum on a bipartisan immigration reform campaign.
Experience
-
2015–presentPhD Candidate, Sociology and Demography, The University of Texas at Austin
-
2015–2020Program Director, Agua es Poder, Guatemala
-
2013–2015Southeast Regional Mobilizer, National Immigration Forum
Education
-
2013Fuller Theological Seminary , M.A., Intercultural Studies
-
2010North Greenville University, B.A., Intercultural Studies
Publications
-
2025Post-Migration Stressors and Mental and Physical Health Among Refugees and Migrants in Need of Protection: A Mixed-Methods Analysis with Weekly Panel Data, Society and Mental Health
-
2025Family Separation Among Migrants in Need of International Protection: Anticipation, Duration, and Agency, International Migration Review
-
2024International Displacement and Family Stress in Latin America, Journal of Family Issues
-
2024Design and Implementation of an Intensive Panel Survey with Refugees and Other Migrants in Need of Protection in Costa Rica, PLOS One
-
2024Border Ballads: The Poetry and Politics of Los Tigres del Norte, Migration Studies
-
2023Variability in Mental Health Reporting Among Refugees and Migrants in Need of Protection: New Evidence from a Weekly Panel Survey, BMC Public Health
-
2023Value Conditioned Interest: Secularity, Institutional Support, and the Sociology of Religion in Graduate Departments, The Sociological Quarterly
-
2022Costa Rica as a Destination for Migrants in Need of International Protection: IMR Country Report, International Migration Review
-
2022Threat or Godsend? Evangelicals and Democracy in Latin America, Journal of Religion and Demography
Professional Memberships
- Population Association of America
- American Sociological Association
Contact Matthew for
- General
- Media request
- Speaking request
- Consulting / Advising
- Research collaboration
- Research supervision
- Location: Austin, Texas, U.S.
- Website
- BlueSky: @matthewblanton.bsky.social
- X (formerly Twitter): @Matthew_Blanton
- Article Feed
- Joined
