Donte L. Bernard

Donte Bernard is an assistant professor in the National Crime Victims Research & Treatment Center at the Medical the University of South Carolina. Dr. Bernard's program of research seeks to understand the psychological (e.g., psychopathology; impostor phenomenon) and behavioral health consequences (e.g., maladaptive coping) of racism-related stress and trauma among Black adolescents and emerging adults. His research also aims to identify culturally relevant protective factors (e.g., racial identity) that may promote positive psychological adjustment across sensitive developmental periods in the face of racism-related adversity. Anchored by cultural ecological models recognizing the importance of risk and resilience at the individual and contextual level, his research leverages both quantitative and qualitative methods to validate the lived experiences of Black communities by inserting their voices, perspectives, and experiences into scholarly spaces that have wise been exclusionary.

Current Work:

Dr. Bernard is currently conducting research that aims to understand developmental pathways by which racial discrimination confers risk to trauma related sequalae among Black youth. To this end, Dr. Bernard is currently leading a mixed method study funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), which investigates the interplay between different forms of racial discrimination (direct, online, vicarious), racism-related vigilance, racial identity and trauma related mental health outcomes among Black pre-and-early adolescents over time. As a clinical psychologist, the overarching aim of this study is to understand why racial discrimination leads to poor health outcomes so as to inform to inform the development of programs, policy, and interventions to promote resilience and positive psychosocial adjustment in the face of racism-related adversity.

Research Area(s):

• mental health; racial stress and trauma; racial identity; impostor phenomenon