(PS8-58) College Student’s Perceptions of an Ai-powered Mental Wellness Chatbot for College Student Mental Health

Abstract Text:

Background: College students face many mental health problems, like depression and anxiety as they transition into early adulthood and adjust to their newfound independence. The COVID-19 pandemic only worsened already elevated rates of depression and anxiety among this population, and traditional university and college counseling centers have been unable to meet the increased demand for treatment. As a result, counseling centers have begun to turn to digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) to increase the availability and accessibility of treatment for students. Artificial intelligence (AI)-based chatbots are a new type of DMHI and preliminary evidence suggests that they can be effective in reducing depression and anxiety symptoms among students. However, more information is needed to better understand college student’s attitudes toward AI chatbots and their role in helping to fill the gap in treatment. Thus, this study aims to assess college student’s perceptions of using Wayhaven, an AI chatbot for mental health wellness.

Methods: Data was drawn from a cross-sectional study examining the preliminary effectiveness of Wayhaven, a DMHI, in improving anxiety, depression, hopelessness, agency, and self-efficacy among college students. Participants were 50 ethnoracially diverse college students with elevated depression and/or anxiety symptoms (80% female, mean age = 22.12 [SD=4.42]). Of these, 46% (n=23) self-identified as Latinx, 34% (n=17) non-Latinx White, 8% (n=4) non-Latinx Black, 8% (n=4) non-Latinx Asian, and 4% (n=2) Multiracial. Students used Wayhaven across one week and completed an online survey assessing their satisfaction, which included two open-ended questions asking them to: 1) provide feedback about how engaging and helpful they found Wayhaven and 2) give suggestions for changes or improvements to Wayhaven. Thematic analysis was used to code these two items.

Results: Four broad themes (barriers and facilitators to uptake/engagement, acceptability, and suggestions for improvement) and 13 sub-themes (i.e., artificiality, positive program design, confidentiality, etc.) emerged. Overall, results revealed that most students found Wayhaven to be engaging, citing that the human-like conversations and user-centered experience prompted them to continue conversations with the AI chatbot. Participants also agreed that Wayhaven was helpful in reducing depression and anxiety symptoms as the AI chatbot provided many strategies and options to reduce distress. However, some participants noted receiving robotic and unsympathetic responses, which may suggest the need to add more validating and supportive replies into Wayhaven.

Conclusions: Students generally found Wayhaven to be engaging and helpful in reducing their depression and anxiety symptoms, and reported being satisfied with their experience using tool. DMHIs that utilize AI chatbots appear may be a viable means to support college student mental health.