This paper is in the following e-collection/theme issue:

Digital Mental Health Interventions, e-Mental Health and Cyberpsychology (2159) Loneliness and Social Isolation (147) Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) (63) Artificial Intelligence (2187) Chatbots and Conversational Agents (754)

Published on in Vol 27 (2025)

Preprints (earlier versions) of this paper are available at https://preprints.jmir.org/preprint/65589, first published .
Therapeutic Potential of Social Chatbots in Alleviating Loneliness and Social Anxiety: Quasi-Experimental Mixed Methods Study

Therapeutic Potential of Social Chatbots in Alleviating Loneliness and Social Anxiety: Quasi-Experimental Mixed Methods Study

Therapeutic Potential of Social Chatbots in Alleviating Loneliness and Social Anxiety: Quasi-Experimental Mixed Methods Study

Authors of this article:

Myungsung Kim1 Author Orcid Image ;   Seonmi Lee1 Author Orcid Image ;   Sieun Kim1 Author Orcid Image ;   Jeong-in Heo1 Author Orcid Image ;   Sangil Lee2 Author Orcid Image ;   Yu-Bin Shin3 Author Orcid Image ;   Chul-Hyun Cho3, 4 Author Orcid Image ;   Dooyoung Jung1, 2 Author Orcid Image
Article Authors Cited by (19) Tweetations (3) Metrics

Journals

  1. Weinstein N, Itzchakov G, Maniaci M. Exploring the connecting potential of AI: Integrating human interpersonal listening and parasocial support into human-computer interactions. Computers in Human Behavior: Artificial Humans 2025;4:100149 View
  2. Nashwan A, Abuhammad S, El-Ashry A. Role of AI companions in addressing loneliness across generations. Asian Journal of Psychiatry 2025;108:104487 View
  3. Algumaei A, Yaacob N, Doheir M, Al-Andoli M, Algumaie M. Symmetric Therapeutic Frameworks and Ethical Dimensions in AI-Based Mental Health Chatbots (2020–2025): A Systematic Review of Design Patterns, Cultural Balance, and Structural Symmetry. Symmetry 2025;17(7):1082 View
  4. Kim Y, Kim K, Murphy J, Park A. Validation of the de Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale for college students in Korea. Current Psychology 2025;44(19):15862 View
  5. Elmer T, Wolf M, Snippe E, Scholz U. A Social Support Just-in-Time Adaptive Intervention for Individuals With Depressive Symptoms: Feasibility Study With a Microrandomized Trial Design. JMIR Mental Health 2025;12:e74103 View
  6. Misiak B, Karska J, Kowalski S, Courtet P, Volpe U, Schouler-Ocak M, Destoop M, Adorjan K, Kraxner F, Buwalda V, Campion J, Beezhold J, Falkai P, Dom G. Urban mental health: a position paper of the European psychiatric association. European Psychiatry 2025;68(1) View
  7. Chung P, Cong R, Yao L, Jin Q. Exploratory Research on the Potential of Human–AI Interaction for Mental Health: Building and Verifying an Experimental Environment Based on ChatGPT and Metaverse. Applied Sciences 2025;15(20):11209 View
  8. Bodner R, Lim K, Schneider R, Torous J. Efficacy and risks of artificial intelligence chatbots for anxiety and depression: a narrative review of recent clinical studies. Current Opinion in Psychiatry 2026;39(1):19 View
  9. K. G. A, Joseph J. The compassion illusion: Can artificial empathy ever be emotionally authentic?. Frontiers in Psychology 2025;16 View
  10. Du Y, Yang P, Liu Y, Deng C, Li X. Artificial intelligence in chronic disease self-management: current applications and future directions. Frontiers in Public Health 2025;13 View
  11. Li G, Wang Y, Zhu H, Zhu M. The impact of AI service robots’ cognitive anthropomorphism on consumers’ subjective well-being – a moderated mediation model. The Service Industries Journal 2025:1 View
  12. Herbener A, Damholdt M. A theoretical framework of the processes of change in mental health interventions delivered by artificial therapists. Journal of Psychology and AI 2025;1(1) View
  13. Zhai N, Ma X, Ding X. Unpacking AI Chatbot Dependency: A Dual-Path Model of Cognitive and Affective Mechanisms. Information 2025;16(12):1025 View
  14. Chin H, Baek G, Cha C, Cha M. Chatbots’ Empathetic Conversations and Responses: A Qualitative Study of Help‑Seeking Queries on Depressive Moods Across 8 Commercial Conversational Agents. JMIR Formative Research 2025;9:e71538 View
  15. Takizawa Y. Investigating the relationships of ChatGPT usage for various purposes with well-being: 6-month cohort study. AI & SOCIETY 2025 View
  16. Teferra B, Johny N, Huang S, Rueda A, Kamaleddin M, Dunlop K, Zhang Y, Jha M, Sharma D, Bhat V. Assessing the impact of safety guardrails on large language models using irritability metrics. npj Digital Medicine 2026 View
  17. Lafortune D, Lapointe V, Canivet C, Bonneau J, Hassan G, Boislard M, Calazana F, Labrie C, Dubé S. “I Could Practice Flirting Without Pressure”: A Proof-of-Concept Study of an AI Chatbot-Assisted Intervention for Men Facing Distressing Involuntary Singlehood. Archives of Sexual Behavior 2026 View

Books/Policy Documents

  1. Aartsen M, Suanet B, Hansen T, Precupetu I. Macro Social Influences on Loneliness in Later Life. View
  2. Espinoza M. AI, Personalization, Equity, and the Future of Learning. View