Lived Experiences with Chatbots as a Support Tool for Stress and Anxiety Management

Abstract

Chatbots that use artificial intelligence (AI) have become one of the emerging effective digital mental health interventions in recent years especially in stress and anxiety management in university students. Although their use is on the rise, little is known about how students actually deal with these tools in the context of real-world acquisition in terms of academic and emotional experiences. The analysis seeks to understand the real-life experiences of students who had stress relievers and anxiety reduction with AI-powered chatbots. The data were gathered using a qualitative, phenomenological methodology, as the semi-structured interviews with a sample of 18 undergraduate students who used mental health chatbots during six weeks were conducted. NVivo software was used to carry out thematic analysis which could be used to obtain repetitive themes in terms of emotions, behaviors and thoughts. Participants also stated that they had both positive and ambivalent experiences which included availability, non-judgemental, and anonymity of chatbots as being beneficial. Nevertheless, some of them also raised worries related to emotional richness, A/C experience and data confidentiality. The significant implications include the postulations that chatbots can provide support of low barriers and instant coping measures but that effectiveness is very individualized to user expectations and emotional background. The research can lead to a better interpretation of the affective affordances and constraints of AI-mediated mental health devices, which require more consideration of individuality and ethical design to proceed with chatbot creation.

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17408656