ArticleChild and adolescent mental health2026
Debate: Conversational AI and young people's mental health - friend or foe? - the illusion of a safe space for youth mental health.
Article in Child and adolescent mental health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Editorial: Technology is in our ecology.Child and adolescent mental health · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Artificially intelligent (AI) chatbots are increasingly used for mental health support, yet their safety guidelines and ethical structures remain unclear, particularly for youth populations. We put forward that many AI-based mental health chatbots create the illusion of a safe and accessible therapeutic space. Drawing on observations from 117 publicly available applications, we contend that claims of full accessibility and confidentiality are countered by both explicit and at times implicit requirements to fully engage with the chatbot, including entering personal information, agreeing to extensive data sharing, and making payments. Applications often overstate the professional expertise and therapeutic outcomes delivered, potentially misleading users to overestimate application capabilities. With the growing popularity of AI chatbots among youth, it is essential to raise awareness about how they create the illusion of a safe space and empower users to make safe and informed decisions about their use.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.