Chatbots to Support Young Adults’ Mental Health: An Exploratory Study of Acceptability

Abstract

Despite the prevalence of mental health conditions, stigma, lack of awareness, and limited resources impede access to care, creating a need to improve mental health support. The recent surge in scientific and commercial interest in conversational agents and their potential to improve diagnosis and treatment seems a potentially fruitful area in this respect, particularly for young adults who widely use such systems in other contexts. Yet, there is little research that considers the acceptability of conversational agents in mental health. This study, therefore, presents three research activities that explore whether conversational agents and, in particular, chatbots can be an acceptable solution in mental healthcare for young adults. First, a survey of young adults (in a university setting) provides an understanding of the landscape of mental health in this age group and of their views around mental health technology, including chatbots. Second, a literature review synthesises current evidence relating to the acceptability of mental health conversational agents and points to future research priorities. Third, interviews with counsellors who work with young adults, supported by a chatbot prototype and user-centred design techniques, reveal the perceived benefits and potential roles of mental health chatbots from the perspective of mental health professionals, while suggesting preconditions for the acceptability of the technology. Taken together, these research activities: provide evidence that chatbots are an acceptable solution to offering mental health support for young adults; identify specific challenges relating to both the technology and environment; and argue for the application of user-centred approaches during development of mental health chatbots and more systematic and rigorous evaluations of the resulting solutions.