To learn more about my research and publications to date please visit my:
In general, my research program has three related foci:
Design and evaluation of digital mental health interventions
The aims of this work are to develop tools that are highly accessible and acceptable to end-users through partnering with key stakeholders at all stages of the design and evaluation process. This includes discovery or elicitation research to understand end-user needs and preferences, iterative prototype development, usability testing and controlled trials. A current project focuses on developing a digital intervention for young adults with NSSI, which will ultimately be integrated and deployed through a mental health advocacy group's website.
Selected publications:
Kruzan, K. P., Mohr, D. & Reddy, M. (2022) How Technologies Can Support Self-injury Self-management: Perspectives of Young Adults with Lived Experience of Nonsuicidal Self-injury. Frontiers in Digital Health.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2022.913599
Kruzan, K. P., Meyerhoff, J., Reddy, M., Mohr, D. C., & Kornfield, R. (2022). “I wanted to see how bad it was:” Mental health self-screening as a critical transition point among young adults. In Proceedings of the 2022 ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) https://doi.org/10.1145/3491102.3501976
*Best Paper Award
Kruzan, K. P., Meyerhoff, J., Biernesser, C., Goldstein, T., Reddy, M., & Mohr, D. C. (2021). Centering Lived Experience in Developing Digital Interventions for Suicide and Self-injurious Behaviors: User-Centered Design Approach. JMIR Mental Health, 8(12), e31367. https://doi.org/10.2196/31367
Online peer support and social media use for mental health
The aims of this work are two-fold: (1) to understand young people's experiences using online communities in mental health support- and information-seeking, and (2) to explore the effects of participation in these communities, with an eye towards design implications to better support individuals in this process.
Selected publications:
Kruzan, K. P., Whitlock, J., & Bazarova, N. (2021). Examining the relationship between use of a mobile peer-support application and self-injury outcomes: A longitudinal mixed-method study. JMIR Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.2196/21854
Kruzan, K. P., Bazarova, N., & Whitlock, J. (2021). Investigating self-injury support solicitations and responses on a mobile peer support application. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Human-Computer Interaction. (CSCW). Article 35. https://doi.org/10.1145/3479498
Understanding mechanisms in nonsuicidal self-injury recovery
The aims of this work are to investigate social, behavioral, and psychological factors that contribute to NSSI risk and recovery. This work is grounded in theories of NSSI etiology (e.g., Benefits and Barriers Model) and behavior change (e.g., Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change) and seeks to identify key targets to better support individuals in their journey to improved mental health and well-ness.
Selected publications:
Kruzan. K. P. Muehlenkamp, J. L., & Claes, L. (2022). Identity, Self-blame, and Body Regard in Nonsuicidal self-injury: A Test of Moderated-Mediation. Comprehensive Psychiatry. 116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2022.1523
Kruzan, K. P., Whitlock. J, & Hasking, P. (2020). Development and initial validation of scales to assess decisional balance (NSSI-DB), processes of change (NSSI-POC), and self-efficacy (NSSI-SE) in a population of young adults engaging in non-suicidal self-injury. Psychological Assessment, 32(7), 635–648.