The goal of this randomised controlled trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of an AI mental health chatbot in promoting emotional wellbeing and perceived empathy among university students in Singapore with mild or subclinical symptoms of anxiety and depression. The main questions it aims to answer are: Can the chatbot provide emotional validation and be perceived as empathic? Does the chatbot reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression and improve wellbeing more than an inactive control condition? Researchers will compare students who engage in four sessions with the chatbot to students who complete four neutral writing tasks to assess differences in emotional wellbeing, empathy, and resilience. Participants will: Complete baseline wellbeing assessments Be randomised to: Four 20-minute chatbot sessions providing personalised support using cognitive-behavioural and compassion-focused techniques (intervention group), or Four 20-minute neutral writing sessions unrelated to mental health (control group) Complete post-session and follow-up wellbeing questionnaires All sessions are conducted virtually over Zoom. Participants are full-time students at the National University of Singapore, aged 21 and above. The study aims to inform future development of AI tools for emotional support in non-clinical settings.
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Perceived empathy (Robot's Perceived Empathy Scale - RoPE)
Timeframe: Immediately after Session 1 and Session 4 (baseline and post-intervention for chatbot group only).
Change in emotional wellbeing (WHO-5 Wellbeing Index)
Timeframe: Day 1 (Baseline), Week 4 (End of Session 4), and Week 8 (1-month follow-up after last session).
Change in anxiety symptoms (Generalised Anxiety Disorder 7-item - GAD-7)
Timeframe: Day 1 (Baseline), Week 4 (End of Session 4), and Week 8 (1-month follow-up after last session).
Change in depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 - PHQ-9)
Timeframe: Day 1 (Baseline), Week 4 (End of Session 4), and Week 8 (1-month follow-up after last session).
Pak (Martin) Hei Ng, Trainee Clinical Psychologist