Multicultural Psychology

History

The history of multicultural psychology is best understood within the context of sociopolitical oppression in the United States. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), psychologists' explicit involvement in controversies related to cultural issues began with Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka in 1954. In this case, psychologists provided significant information regarding the detrimental effects of segregated education for children of color, empirically challenging the notion of “separate but equal.” This case also was the first time that psychological research was incorporated in a Supreme Court decision. Political movements and subsequent legislation and policies, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, exerted an influence on psychologists' integration of multicultural issues in research and practice. In 1971, the National Institute of Mental Health Office of Minority Research was founded, making funding available specifically for research with racial and ethnic minorities.

Although psychologists have addressed racial and cultural issues in their professional work for more than a century, culture was not explicitly considered an important variable in professional practice until the Vail Conference of Graduate Educators in Psychology in 1973. Recommendations from the conference included the integration of cultural diversity training in psychology graduate programs. Since that time, there has been an explosion of research on multicultural training and competence.

In addition to racism and other forms of cultural oppression as a driving force of multicultural psychology, recent demographic changes have been at the center of discussions about the importance of multicultural competence in psychological research and practice. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the ratio of racial/ethnic minorities to White people is increasing dramatically. In some parts of the country, such as some areas of California and Texas, people of color (e.g., African Americans, Latinos/as, Asian Americans) are no longer a minority, and many population experts believe that current racial/ethnic minority groups will become the numerical majority in the United States by the middle of the 21st century. Multicultural psychologists such as Derald Wing Sue and Pedersen state that there is an ethical imperative to practice culturally competent psychology. Moreover, demographic trends in the country have led many psychologists to understand the value of incorporating cultural issues into research and practice, minimally because of the increasing likelihood that they will encounter racial/ethnic minority people in their work. Indeed, in 1997 Christine C. lijima Hall stated that mainstream psychology was becoming obsolete in the face of these demographic changes.

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