Artificial Intelligence–Based Chatbot for Anxiety and Depression in University Students: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background Artificial intelligence–based chatbots are emerging as instruments of psychological intervention; however, no relevant studies have been reported in Latin America. Objective The objective of the present study was to evaluate the viability, acceptability, and potential impact of using Tess, a chatbot, for examining symptoms of depression and anxiety in university students. Methods This was a pilot randomized controlled trial. The experimental condition used Tess for 8 weeks, and the control condition was assigned to a psychoeducation book on depression. Comparisons were conducted using Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon tests for depressive symptoms, and independent and paired sample t tests to analyze anxiety symptoms. Results The initial sample consisted of 181 Argentinian college students (158, 87.2% female) aged 18 to 33. Data at week 8 were provided by 39 out of the 99 (39%) participants in the experimental condition and 34 out of the 82 (41%) in the control group. On an average, 472 (SD 249.52) messages were exchanged, with 116 (SD 73.87) of the messages sent from the users in response to Tess. A higher number of messages exchanged with Tess was associated with positive feedback (F2,36=4.37; P=.02). No significant differences between the experimental and control groups were found from the baseline to week 8 for depressive and anxiety symptoms. However, significant intragroup differences demonstrated that the experimental group showed a significant decrease in anxiety symptoms; no such differences were observed for the control group. Further, no significant intragroup differences were found for depressive symptoms. Conclusions The students spent a considerable amount of time exchanging messages with Tess and positive feedback was associated with a higher number of messages exchanged. The initial results show promising evidence for the usability and acceptability of Tess in the Argentinian population. Research on chatbots is still in its initial stages and further research is needed.

The Development and Use of Chatbots in Public Health: Scoping Review

“…Studies on the use of chatbots for mental health, in particular anxiety and depression, also seem to show potential, with users reporting positive outcomes on at least some of the measurements taken [ 33 , 34 , 41 ]. The research suggests that psychotherapy chatbots can act as a supplemental tool as part of the broader psychotherapy process [ 21 ] across a broad range of psychotherapeutic methodologies and approaches (see Multimedia Appendix 2 for a summary of chatbot roles).…”

“…Although research on the use of chatbots in public health is at an early stage, developments in technology and the exigencies of combatting COVID-19 have contributed to the huge upswing in their use, most notably in triage roles. Studies on the use of chatbots for mental health, in particular depression, also seem to show potential, with users reporting positive outcomes [ 33 , 34 , 41 ]. Impetus for the research on the therapeutic use of chatbots in mental health, while still predominantly experimental, predates the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

“…Two-thirds (21/32, 66%) of the chatbots in the included studies were developed on custom-developed platforms on the web [6,16,[20][21][22][23][24][25][26], for mobile devices [21,[27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36], or personal computers [37,38]. A smaller fraction (8/32, 25%) of chatbots were deployed on existing social media platforms such as Facebook Messenger, Telegram, or Slack [39][40][41][42][43][44]; using SMS text messaging [42,45]; or the Google Assistant platform [18] (see Figure 4).…”

[Retracted] The Influence of Public Mental Health Based on Artificial Intelligence Technology on the Teaching Effect of Business Administration Major

“…To evaluate the teaching results of the business administration major more fairly and justly, we propose an evaluation method for the teaching effect of the business administration major on public mental health based on artificial intelligence technology [24,25]. We adopt artificial intelligence-based mental health evaluation form and data analysis method, which enables researchers to approach the task scenario in a more simulated way, obtain multimodal data for analysis and modeling, and achieve more efficient and accurate predictions [26,27]. The application of mental health assessment based on artificial intelligence engineering to the teaching effect of business administration has a comprehensive range of applications, and it has certain conducting significance for the investigation on the teaching effect of business administration and avoids the interference of human factors [28].…”

COVID-Bot, an Intelligent System for COVID-19 Vaccination Screening: Design and Development

“…However, in the light of the growing difficulties in attending to patients during a health crisis or pandemic, such as COVID-19, the health care sector has shifted its focus to strengthening digital health care services. Health care professionals are using chatbots to assist patients 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which is a major changer for the business [23,24]. Health care chatbots can deliver accurate, up-to-date information, while improving the patient experience.…”