El Ingenio Mexicano: A cultural value among Mexican/Mexican Americans

Abstract

There is a rich history of el ingenio mexicano [Mexican ingenuity], defined as finding solutions to problems in creative, inventive, and unconventional ways that are often necessitated by limited finances, formal education, materials, and resources. Despite this strong emphasis on ingenio in the Mexican/Mexican American community, there has been little research examining it. I sought to explore ingenio as a Mexican cultural value that is important to understanding Mexican/Mexican American well-being and adjustment. This study aimed to 1) formulate an operational definition of ingenio; 2) develop a new self-report measure of ingenio as a cultural value; and 3) test the validity of the measure in Mexican and Mexican American samples. Study One used thematic analysis of qualitative interviews (N = 12) with Mexican and Mexican American adults to create an operational definition of ingenio and generate initial scale items. Items were reviewed by a panel of three Mexican American psychologists and three community members and subsequently revised. Study Two focused on testing the initial scale validation to identify the number of factors and reduce items with a Mexican/Mexican American sample (N = 266) recruited from Prolific. Additionally, Study Two explored the psychometric properties of the scale including the reliability of subscale scores based on the three selected factors and concurrent, incremental, and divergent validity of the overall Ingenio Scale. Study Three examined the psychometric properties of the Ingenio Scale using a sample of Mexican nationals (N = 100) residing in Mexico. These studies demonstrate the importance of ingenio as a cultural value and the psychometric properties of the proposed cultural value.