Martha E. Bernal facts for kids

Martha E. Bernal was a very important American psychologist. She was born on April 13, 1931, in San Antonio, Texas, and passed away on September 28, 2001. She made history by becoming the first Latina woman to earn a doctorate degree in psychology in the United States. Dr. Bernal spent her career helping children with behavior problems. She also worked hard to create groups that supported different ethnic communities.

Early Life and School

Martha Bernal was born in San Antonio, Texas, in 1931. Her parents were immigrants from Mexico. She grew up learning about Mexican culture while also living as a Mexican American.

At first, her father, Enrique de Bernal, did not want her to go to college. But her older sister, Cristina, and her mother, Alicia, supported her. Because of their help, her father finally agreed.

Martha started elementary school in 1939. She later graduated from El Paso High School. In her school, speaking Spanish was not allowed. Teachers also discouraged her and her sisters from taking advanced classes. Martha said this made her feel ashamed of her background and her native language.

Higher Education

In 1952, Martha Bernal earned her first college degree. She received a bachelor's degree from Texas Western College. This school is now known as the University of Texas at El Paso.

She then went to Syracuse University. She earned a Master of Arts degree there in 1955. After that, she moved to Indiana University to continue her studies.

At Indiana University, Martha faced challenges because she was a woman. She almost quit her studies. But one of her teachers, Harry Yamaguchi, convinced her to keep going. With support from other professors, she earned her doctorate degree in psychology in 1962.

Her Work as a Psychologist

After getting her doctorate, Dr. Martha E. Bernal looked for jobs at universities. It was hard for her to find a faculty position because of her gender. Many places did not want to hire women as professors back then.

She received a special fellowship from the United States Public Health Service. This allowed her to do research at UCLA for two years.

Eventually, she became a professor at Arizona State University. There, she began studying how Mexican American children developed their ethnic identity. She also became very interested in helping children with behavior problems. She found ways to use behavioral methods to treat these issues.

Dr. Bernal became well-known for her work. She showed how behavioral treatments for children could work over time. She also created a special survey called the Ethnic Identity Questionnaire. This tool helped measure how young Mexican American children developed their ethnic identity.

From 1964 to 1971, she worked at UCLA's Neuropsychiatric Institute. She developed ways to help children there. Then, from 1971 to 1986, she continued her work at the University of Denver. Some of her methods involved training parents. She gave them lesson plans to help them manage their children's behavior problems.

Making a Difference in Psychology

Dr. Bernal soon became a leading researcher in mental health for minority groups. She noticed that not many minority students were studying psychology. Also, there were few courses about minority issues in psychology programs across the U.S.

She spoke out about the need to train more mental health experts. These experts were needed to help the growing number of ethnic minorities in the United States. Dr. Bernal strongly pushed for more minority people to join the field of psychology.

She worked to create special groups within the American Psychological Association (APA). These groups focused on ethnic issues. Her research helped convince many people in the APA to form the Board of Ethnic Minority Affairs (BEMA).

Martha Bernal received many awards for her important work. These included awards for her clinical work with children. Because she had faced unfair treatment herself, she made a huge difference. She helped bring more Hispanic people into psychology. She also improved how minority groups were treated in the U.S.

She received the Distinguished Life Achievement Award from APA's Division 45. She also got the APA's Distinguished Contribution to Psychology in the Public Interest Award in 2001.

Dr. Bernal also helped start the National Hispanic Psychology Association. This group is now called the National Latino Psychological Association. She became its second president and later its treasurer.

One of her greatest achievements was teaching and guiding many students. She helped them deal with challenges she had faced in her own life. There are now scholarships named after her. These scholarships help minority students, especially women, go to college. She wanted all students to have equal chances to succeed in psychology. She inspired many people who knew her.

Later Life and Passing

In her later years, Martha Bernal became sick with cancer. She had to stop her work because her health declined. However, she remained an important leader. She continued to work with the Commission on Ethnic Minority. This group focused on getting, keeping, and training minority people in psychology. She stayed an active member until she passed away.

She fought and recovered from cancer three times. But then she was diagnosed with lung cancer. Dr. Martha E. Bernal passed away at the age of 70 on September 28, 2001.