Sociologist Dr. Tristen Clifton’s scholarship broadly focuses on health inequality and gender stratification. More specifically, Dr. Clifton studies how childhood adversity impacts health along the life course, and the link between religious affiliation and social stratification. As a Hope undergraduate, Dr. Clifton participated in research within the Department of Sociology and Social Work.

She began teaching at Hope in 2023. Her courses to date have included Introduction to Sociology, Gender and Society, and Cultural Anthropology.

During her graduate training, Dr. Clifton served for a year as an action research associate with the Heart of Texas Human Trafficking Coalition.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

• Health inequality
• Gender stratification
• The life course
• Sociology of religion

EDUCATION

• Ph.D., sociology, Baylor University, 2024
• B.A., sociology & Spanish, Hope College, 2018

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

• “Religious Affiliation and Debt Among U.S. Households,” with Mackenzie Brewer and Laura Upenieks, Social Science Research, 2024
• “Religious Affiliation and Women’s Receipt of Person-Centered Contraceptive Care: Evidence from the National Survey of Family Growth, 2017–2019,” with Mackenzie Brewer, Contraception, 2023
• “Influence of Role Models and Unstructured Relationship on Changes in Medical Student Character, Medical-Specific Empathy, and General Empathy,” with Aaron Franzen, Medical Research Archives, 2023
• “The Impact of COVID-19 on Emotional Wellbeing: The Role of Socializing Activity Changes and Attitudes in the United States,” presentation with Xi Zhu and Richie Li at Southwestern Social Science Association conference, 2022
• “Technology as a Mechanism for the Normalization of Living with Mental Illness,” presentation at Southwestern Social Science Association virtual conference, 2021

OUTSIDE THE COLLEGE

Dr. Clifton loves all things flowers, a crisp Coca-Cola and anything freshly baked. She can be found chasing after her two young children alongside her husband, Ben. She enjoys attempting to bake with children around, reading nonfiction and spending time with her community.