16th EUSPR Conference and Members’ Meeting

Building well-being: digital construction in Minecraft as a tool for adolescent prevention research

Not scheduled

15m

CharitéCrossOver/0-0 - Atrium (Virchowweg 6)

Poster Posters day 1

Speaker

Lorraine Cousin Cabrolier (AP-HP. Nord-Université Paris Cité, Hôpital Universitaire Robert Debré, Unité d'épidémiologie Clinique, Inserm, CIC-1426, Paris, France.)

Description

Background: Adolescent well-being impacts lifelong health outcomes. Understanding how youth conceptualize well-being is essential for developing effective prevention approaches across the continuum . Digital environments, central to youth culture, offer innovative methodologies to explore youth perspectives at different prevention levels. This study investigates how adolescent gamers represent well-being through Minecraft, demonstrating gaming's potential as both a research tool and prevention platform.
Objective: To explore adolescents' representations of well-being through a Minecraft construction challenge, analyzing how their conceptualizations align with established frameworks and support transdisciplinary prevention research.
Methods: Twelve participants (aged 15-22) from a French streaming community created ideal well-being spaces in Minecraft during a 7-hour building challenge. We employed mixed-methods combining visual analysis of constructions and thematic analysis of presentations using the UN H6+ framework. The study received ethics approval and was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Results: Social connectedness and healthy lifestyle emerged as dominant domains in participants' representations (7/12 constructions), manifesting through communal spaces and health-promoting environments. Learning and safety domains were moderately represented, while agency elements were minimal. Constructions frequently integrated multiple purposes—combining gaming with study areas and physical activity spaces with social gathering opportunities.
Conclusion: This study contributes to prevention science by demonstrating digital games' potential across the prevention continuum—from primary prevention research tools to platforms for health promotion. The findings challenge stereotypes about gamers' isolation while revealing how young people prioritize social and physical dimensions of well-being. This interdisciplinary approach illustrates how digital cultural practices can inform effective, youth-centered interventions at various prevention levels, supporting both primary prevention through increased understanding of youth perspectives and secondary prevention by identifying potential gaps in adolescents' well-being conceptualizations.