About

Melissa L. Bessaha, PhD, LMSW, MA, is an Associate Professor and Chair of Families, Youth, and Transition to Adulthood at the Stony Brook University School of Social Welfare. Her academic background includes a PhD from the University of Maryland in Social Work, an MSW from New York University, an MA from Stony Brook University, and a BS from Stony Brook University. Her areas of interest encompass mental health and educational disparities among youth and young adults, immigration and social determinants of mental health during the transition to adulthood, the influence of social relationships, higher education equity, social work in higher education, and program evaluation for transition-age youth. Dr. Bessaha has contributed to the field through numerous publications and presentations focused on social isolation, mental health, and disparities affecting marginalized populations, including migrant youth, emerging adults, and students with disabilities. Her work emphasizes community-based approaches and participatory action research to address mental health challenges and promote inclusive environments.

Research topics

• Psychology
• Psychiatry
• Medicine
• Political Science
• Environmental health
• Clinical psychology
• Gerontology
• Public relations
• Family medicine
• Social psychology
• Demography
• Economic growth
• Nursing

Selected publications

• Cultural Stress, Ethnic and National Identity, Mental Health and Well-Being Among Black, Hispanic, and Asian College Students: A Person-Centered Approach

  Journal of College Student Mental Health · 2026-05-05

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  PublisherDOI

• Unpacking Multiple Forms of Discrimination Experiences in Racial/Ethnic Subgroups of Emerging Adults

  Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities · 2025-06-25

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  PublisherDOI

• Understanding College Athlete Mental Health: Insights from Division I Athletic Department Personnel

  Journal of Intercollegiate Sport · 2025-10-09

  articleOpen access

  Throughout contemporary society, mental health and well-being are viewed as critical components of holistic, biopsychosocial development. This perspective has gained momentum within the context of sport, as athletes utilize their social platform to advocate for mental health resources and supports. However, the diverse and dynamic needs of many athletes remain unmet. Within the current study, six focus groups—which included 27 partners of collegiate athletics—were conducted and included athletes, coaches, athletic trainers, as well as athletic administrators and academic counselors. Using a reflexive thematic analysis, findings indicated that college athlete mental health is understood as holistic well-being and the ability to thrive in daily life. Participants discussed learning about mental health through academic education and training, as well as lived experiences (e.g., dual pandemic). Finally, participants believed more athletes are talking about mental health and that athletes feel most comfortable discussing mental health with their teammates and friends, the team’s sport staff (e.g., athletic trainers, strength and conditioning coaches, assistant coaches), and mental health professionals. These conversations often occurred in the locker room and on team bus rides. However, there was hesitancy discussing mental health with head coaches and because of gender differences.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Identity Distress, Confusion, Synthesis, and Social Media Use for Coping: Implications for Identity Development

  Identity · 2024-08-18 · 2 citations

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  How do emerging adults undergoing identity distress during an adverse collective life event such as the COVID-19 pandemic use social media for coping? This study addressed this question by examining the associations of identity distress, confusion, and synthesis with social media use for coping with a national, multisite undergraduate sample of university students (N = 1257; M age = 20; 908 women) in the United States. Results indicated that emerging adult college students undergoing increased identity distress during the pandemic reported utilizing social media frequently for coping, such as socially connecting with others and alleviating negative emotions. Similarly, emerging adult college students experiencing increased identity uncertainty (marked by greater identity confusion and lower identity synthesis) during the pandemic reported using social media frequently for coping. Moreover, findings implied that emerging adult college students experiencing high identity distress severity, interference, and duration were almost two times more likely than their peers undergoing a lesser degree of distress to use social media to alleviate negative emotions. Implications for mental health practitioners working with emerging adults during an adverse collective life event are discussed.

  PublisherDOI

• Youth participation in substance use prevention: A national profile, 2011–2019

  Preventive Medicine · 2024-06-19 · 3 citations

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• Youth Participation in Substance Use Prevention: A National Profile, 2011-2021

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2024-01-01

  preprintOpen access
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• Choice Matters: The Moderating Effect of Choice on the Relationship Between Mental Health Personal Recovery and Symptomatology

  Journal of Adolescent Health · 2024-10-28 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Navigating Identity Uncertainty: Identity Distress During the COVID-19 Pandemic

  Emerging Adulthood · 2023-09-30 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  The long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have only recently begun to be explored. Among college students, who were faced with sudden and unprecedented changes and challenges, it is likely that COVID-19 detrimentally impacted the establishment of a sense of self, a key developmental task of the college years. However, no research has examined the relationships among COVID-19 related worries, identity distress, and psychological and academic adjustment. To address these gaps in the current study, we examined the prevalence of identity distress, the relationship between COVID-19 related worries and identity distress, and the direct and indirect associations between COVID-19 related worries and psychological and academic adjustment among a sample of 1627 college students ( M age = 20.51, SD = 2.21). Findings indicated that over a third of the sample reported high levels of identity distress and that COVID-19 related worries were negatively associated, both directly and indirectly through identity distress, with psychological and academic adjustment.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• How does social support relate to emotional availability for learning during COVID-19? A multi-group structural equation model of university students from the U.S. and Israel

  Social Psychology of Education · 2023-04-05 · 5 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Community-Based Providers’ Perspectives on Addressing Loneliness and Mental Health Services for Migrant Youth and Emerging Adults

  Journal of Social Service Research · 2023-01-02 · 12 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Migrant youth and emerging adults (MYEA), ages 15 to 29, who recently migrated to the United States are vulnerable to experiencing chronic loneliness related to discrimination, social isolation, and stigma. Yet, there is limited intervention research on detecting, mitigating, and addressing the effects of chronic loneliness for MYEA. This study examined community-based providers’ perspectives on the effects of social isolation and loneliness on MYEA, and the availability of social and mental health services for this population. This qualitative study utilized focus groups involving 18 providers serving MYEA in the New York metropolitan area. Data analysis involved double-coding by pairs of trained research team members to generate thematic codes. The main recurrent emerging themes were: (1) the importance of social-emotional wellbeing of MYEA; (2) the ways in which the experience of migration itself facilitated social isolation for MYEA; (3) the barriers to supportive services for mitigating chronic loneliness from an organizational perspective; and (4) the tensions between professional mandates and protections for migrant youth clients. Future intervention strategies, from an organizational perspective, must work through interorganizational partnerships building upon community assets to increase social connectedness to support migrant youth’s social-emotional wellbeing through the transition to adulthood.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Charlotte Lyn Bright

  Colorado State University

  13 shared

• Benjamin J. Falls

  University of Maryland, College Park

  9 shared

• Douglas W. Young

  9 shared

• Miguel Muñoz‐Laboy

  Stony Brook University

  7 shared

• Seth J. Schwartz

  The University of Texas at Austin

  5 shared

• Minas Michikyan

  5 shared

• George J. Unick

  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  5 shared

• Miguel Ángel Cano

  The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

  5 shared

Awards & honors

• Stony Brook University Office of the Vice President for Rese…
• Stony Brook University Diversity Initiative Grant ($50,000;…
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (S…