Faculty Directory
Matias Placencio-Castro
Part-time Faculty
Matias Placencio-Castro
Contact
Email: matias.placencio@bc.edu
ORCID 0000-0003-4927-3344
Education
- B.A., Pontifical Catholic University of Chile
- M.A., Pontifical Catholic University of Chile
Research Interests
Implementation Science
Early Childhood Development
Parental and adolescent Mental Health
Quantitative Research Methods, with special emphasis on Psychometrics, Instrument Development, Statistical Programming, Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs, and Multilevel and Structural Equation Modeling
Expertise
- Child Welfare
- Global Practice
- Innovations in Research Methods
- Evaluation
Biography
Matias earned a Bachelor's degree in History, a High School Teaching License, a Master’s degree in Sociology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, and a Ph.D. in Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics, and Assessment from the Boston College Lynch School of Education and Human Development.
In Chile, he has worked in governmental organizations, including the National Institute of Statistics and the Quality of Education Agency, and also served as a research assistant on several government-funded research projects. In the U.S., he has worked as a Statistical Analyst for the Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation and the Boston Public Schools District. He has also served as a Consultant for the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Currently, he is a Senior Social Sciences Data Analyst at the Research Program on Children and Adversity, Boston College School of Social Work. His research interests include early childhood development, children and youth mental health, and quantitative research methods for the social sciences, with special emphasis on psychometrics, instrument development, statistical programming, experimental and quasi-experimental designs, multilevel and structural equation modeling.
Selected Publications
Black, C. J., Placencio‐Castro, M., Phend, G., Havugimana, J. M. V., Umulisa, G., Uwamahoro, P., Nyirahabimana, M. G., Bond, L., Hernandez, K., Jensen, S. K., Kajani, U., Murray, S. M., Rawlings, L. B., Sezibera, V., & Betancourt, T. S. (2025). Scaling up home‐visiting to promote early childhood development and prevent violence in Rwanda: A hybrid type‐2 effectiveness‐implementation trial. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, jcpp.14160. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.14160
Bond, L., Placencio-Castro, M., Byansi, W., Puffer, E., & Betancourt, T. S. (2025). Factors Associated with Nonspecialist Quality of Delivery within a Family Strengthening Intervention in Rwanda: A Parallel Latent Growth Model. Prevention Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-025-01768-0
Desrosiers, A., Noon, K., Placencio-Castro, M., Hansen, N. B., Moigua, M., & Betancourt, T. S. (2025). Can an Evidence-Based Mental Health Intervention Indirectly Benefit Caregivers and Peers of Intervention Participants in Rural Sierra Leone? Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health.
Jensen, S. G. K., Placencio-Castro, M., Murray, S. M., Littman, J., Bazubagira, S. M., Uwizeye, D., Sezibera, V., & Betancourt, T. S. (2025). Four-year follow-up to a home-visiting intervention to promote early childhood development and prevent family violence in rural Rwanda: The Sugira Muryango cluster randomised trial. BMJ Global Health, 10(6), e017866. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2024-017866
Freeman, J., Farrar, J., Placencio-Castro, M., Desrosiers, A., Brennan, R., Feika, M., Jambia, M., Hansen, N., Akinsulure- Smith, A., Su, S., Bangura, J., & Betancourt, T. (2023). Integrating Youth Readiness Intervention and Entrepreneurship in Sierra Leone: A Hybrid Type II CRT. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0890856723022542
Desmond, C., Grace Watt, K., Jensen, SK., Simmons, E., Murray, S.M., Farrar, J., Placencio-Castro, M., Sezibera, V., Rawlings, L., Wilson, B., Betancourt, T. (2023). Measuring the cost-effectiveness of a home-visiting intervention to promote early child development among families linked to the Rwandan Social Protection System. PLOS Global Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0002473
Jensen, S. K., Murray, S., Placencio-Castro, M.; Kajani, U., Amponsah, D., Sezibera, V., & Betancourt, T. (2023). Family Violence Reduction Within a Parenting Intervention in Rwanda: A Mixed-Methods Study. Pediatrics, 151, S2, May 2023. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2023-060221L
McKay, A., Placencio-Castro, M., Kelly-Weeder, S. & Harris, A. (2023). Development and psychometric testing of a scale to measure sexual minority-inclusivity in sex education (SMISES), Sexuality Research and Social Policy. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-023-00794-3
Mendive, S., Placencio-Castro, M., Strasser, K., Dominguez, P., Pozo, F., Kucirkova, N. (2023). Impacts of a Personalized Book Giveaway Intervention in low-SES Households, Early Childhood Research Quarterly 63:169–80. doi: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2022.12.008.
McKay, E. A., Placencio-Castro, M., Fu, M., & Fontenot, H. (2021). Associations between Sex Education Types and Sexual Behaviors Among Female Adolescents: A Secondary Data Analysis of the National Survey of Family Growth 2011-2019, Sexuality Research and Social Policy. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-021-00664-w
Maru, M., Rogers, E. S., Nicolellis, D., Legere, L., Placencio-Castro, M., Magee, C., & Harbaugh, A. G. (2021). Vocational peer support for adults with psychiatric disabilities: Results of a randomized trial. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal. https://doi.org/10.1037/prj0000484.
Jensen SK, Placencio-Castro M, Murray SM, et al (2021) Effect of a home-visiting parenting program to promote early childhood development and prevent violence: a cluster-randomized trial in Rwanda. BMJ Global Health 2021;6:e003508.
Selected Appointments and Awards
2017-2021: Becas Chile Ph.D Scholarship, National Research and Development Agency (ANID), Chilean Government.
2014 - 2015: National Master Scholarship, National Research and Development Agency (ANID), Chilean Government.
2012: Teacher’s Vocation Scholarship, Ministry of Education, Chilean Government.