RESEARCH & WRITING

As a researcher, I enjoy exploring the relationships among mental health, work, culture, & social justice issues.

A little bit about my research background

During my graduate education, I became interested in the connections between psychology and the sociocultural context. My counseling psychology training at Boston College has instilled the value of social justice advocacy as a scientist-practitioner. Parallel to this transformative process, I worked with Dr. David L. Blustein on a number of empirical and conceptual projects concentrated on the psychology of working and social justice issues. One line of research that we conducted focused on individuals’ psychological experiences during unemployment and underemployment following the Great Recession.

This project furthered my passion to address the pervasive consequences of systemic problems, including poverty and inequity, on mental health. As such, I co-authored international book chapters on decent work and work-based mental health interventions for poor and working class individuals.

To forge a direct connection between social justice research and practice, I further worked for an integrative STEM career development program, College Bound, which teaches urban adolescents to produce healthy food and solve environmental problems in their neighborhoods using innovative technology. In this context, I led a qualitative research study on environmental and food justice and science education and examined the outcomes of the College Bound project.

My doctoral dissertation examined the experiences of counseling psychologists who were trained in social justice-oriented graduate programs and provided insights into practical aspects of social justice work in psychology.

Following my doctoral education, I continued to explore the experiences of individuals who are marginalized based on social class as well as educational and employment status. Specifically, my colleagues and I used both qualitative and quantitative research methods to examine the applicability of the Psychology of Working Theory to the work-related and overall well-being of diverse populations.

PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLES

Blustein, D. L., Allan, B. A., Mazur, A., Sharone, O., Autin, K., Cinamon, R. G., Ferreira, J., Kozan, S., Smith, C., Stevenson, B. J., & Thompson, M. N., 2023. Journal of Career Assessment, 1, 648-664. https://doi.org/10.1177/10690727231196143
Autin, K. L., Allan, B. A., Blustein, D. L., Kozan, S., Sharone, O., Stevenson, B. J., Cinamon, R. G., Ferreira, J., & Thompson, M. N., 2022. Journal of Career Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1177/10690727221138619
Blustein, D. L., Thompson, M. N., Kozan, S., & Allan, B. A., 2021. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice. 52, 523–532. https://doi.org/10.1037/pro0000425
Kozan, S., Gutowski, E., & Blustein, D. L., 2020. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 67, 195–207. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cou0000409
Kozan, S., Blustein, D. L., Paciorek, R., Kilbury, E., & Işık, E., 2019. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 66, 600–612. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cou0000343
Kozan, S., Işık, E., & Blustein, D. L., 2019. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 66, 317–327. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cou0000342
Işık, E., Kozan, S., & Negiş-Işık, A. N., 2019. Journal of Career Assessment, 27, 471–489. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072718763636
Kozan, S., & Blustein, D. L., 2018. The Counseling Psychologist, 46, 154–189. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000018756882
Işık, E., Ulubey, E., & Kozan, S., 2018. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 106, 11–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2017.11.010
Kozan, S., Blustein, D. L., Barnett, M., Wong, C., Connors-Kellgren, A., Haley, J., ... Wan, D., 2017. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 17, 205–234. https://doi.org/10.1111/asap.12136
Kozan, S., Di Fabio, A., Blustein, D. L., & Kenny, M. E., 2014. Journal of Career Assessment. 22, 345–354. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072713493988
Blustein, D. L., Kozan, S., & Connors-Kellgren, A., 2013. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 82, 256–265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2013.02.005
Blustein, D. L., Medvide, M. B., & Kozan, S., 2012. The Counseling Psychologist, 40, 243–254. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000011429032

BOOK CHAPTERS

Kozan, S., Masdonati, J., Konowitz, L., & Blustein, D. L., 2019. In J. Masdonati, K. Massoudi & J. Rossier (Eds.), Repères pour l’orientation (pp. 233–263). Lausanne, Suisse: Antipodes.
Medvide, M. B., & Kozan, S., Blustein, D. L., & Kenny, M. E., 2019. In J. G. Maree (Ed.), Handbook of innovative career counseling (pp. 157–172). New York, NY: Springer.
Blustein, D. L., Kozan, S., Connors-Kellgren, A., & Rand, B. (2015). In P. J. Hartung, M. L. Savickas, & W. B. Walsh (Eds.), APA handbooks in psychology. APA handbook of career intervention, Vol. 1. Foundations (p. 243–257). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/14438-014
Blustein, D.L., Kenny, M. E., & Kozan, S. (2014). In S. Al-Atiqi & S. Marinescu (Eds.). Barriers to and Opportunities for Poverty Reduction: Prospects for Private Sector Led-Interventions. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) International Center for Private Sector in Development, Istanbul, Turkey.

My current research program

Most recently, I have co-authored several articles on integrative practices during the COVID-19 pandemic as a member of the Work Intervention Network, a group of scholar-activists developing mental health and work interventions to support unemployed/underemployed individuals.

I envision my next several years to be devoted to investigating how experiences of marginalization based on intersecting social identities affect the work lives and mental health among several communities in global contexts including immigrants and refugees. In turn, I am interested in how these factors predict marginalized communities’ ability to secure decent work which relates to mental health outcomes. Another aim of my research program over the next several years is to engage in projects exploring how individual and cultural strengths buffer the impact of oppressive forces on marginalized communities. Although I value using both qualitative and quantitative research methods in psychology, I would like to focus on conducting qualitative and mixed-methods research moving forward.