Promoting Positive Youth Development and Highlighting Reasons for Living in Northwest Alaska Through Digital Storytelling. Issue 4 (July 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wexler, Lisa; Gubrium, Aline; Griffin, Megan; DiFulvio, Gloria
• Is Part Of: Health promotion practice. Volume 14:Issue 4(2013)
• Page Start: 617
• Page End: 623
• Publication Date: 2013-07
• Subjects: child/adolescent health -- community intervention -- health promotion -- Alaska Native -- minority health -- qualitative evaluation -- program planning and evaluation -- Internet/electronic interventions -- technology; Health promotion -- Periodicals; Health promotion -- United States -- Periodicals; Health education -- Periodicals; Health education -- United States -- Periodicals; 613
• DOI: 10.1177/1524839912462390
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1524-8399

Abstract

Using a positive youth development framework, this article describes how a 3-year digital storytelling project and the 566 digital stories produced from it in Northwest Alaska promote protective factors in the lives of Alaska Native youth and serve as digital "hope kits, " a suicide prevention approach that emphasizes young people's reasons for living. Digital stories are short, participant-produced videos that combine photos, music, and voice. We present process data that indicate the ways that digital stories serve as a platform for youth to reflect on and represent their lives, important relationships and achievements. In so doing, youth use the digital storytelling process to identify and highlight encouraging aspects of their lives, and develop more certain and positive identity formations. These processes are correlated with positive youth health outcomes. In addition, the digital stories themselves serve as reminders of the young people's personal assets—their reasons for living—after the workshop ends. Young people in this project often showed their digital stories to those who were featured positively within as a way to strengthen these interpersonal relationships. Evaluation data from the project show that digital storytelling workshops and outputs are a promising positive youth development approach. The project and the qualitative data demonstrate the need for further studies focusing on outcomes related to suicide prevention.