ArticleFrontiers in public health2025
Depression and the use of conversational AI for companionship among college students: the mediating role of loneliness and the moderating effects of gender and mind perception.
Article in Frontiers in public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- A scoping review on the mental health harms of LLM-based chatbots.NPJ digital medicine · 2026Article
- Mediation role of artificial intelligence exposure in adverse childhood experiences: related mental health risks among college students.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Generative Artificial Intelligence Use and Adolescent Mental Health.Current pediatrics reports · 2026Review
- From boredom to problematic AI chatbot use: a three-wave half-longitudinal mediation study of loneliness and dual-system self-control.Australian journal of psychology · 2026Article
- How do consumers perceive virtual agents with behavioral realism? The role of loneliness and trust.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Factors influencing single young adults' intentions to accept AI virtual companion apps based on the theory of emotional design.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Character style and relational judgments in human-AI romance: trust, commitment, intimacy, and passion.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- A critical narrative synthesis of psychological correlates, measurement, and reported findings on conversational AI engagement and dependence-related constructs.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Review
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4 authors.
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Abstract
Introduction: The present study aimed to examine the relationship between depression and the use of conversational AI for companionship (UCAI-C) among college students. It further sought to investigate the mediating role of loneliness and the moderating roles of gender and mind perception in this association. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 1,379 college students (Mean age = 21.93 years; 616 females, 763 males) using four validated instruments. Structural equation modeling was employed for data analysis. Results: Depression was found to be positively associated with UCAI-C. This relationship was significantly mediated by loneliness. Moreover, both gender and mind perception moderated the pathways between depression, loneliness, and UCAI-C. Conclusion: The findings illustrate how individuals' mental states can influence their use of companion AI. They highlight significant individual differences (gender and mind perception) in these relationships, contributing to the theoretical understanding of factors governing human interaction with AI chatbots.
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