[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"health-study-detail:100590286":3},{"organization":4,"armGroups":7,"interventions":20,"overallOfficials":25,"centralContacts":30,"locations":25,"responsibleParty":36,"collaborators":25,"id":40,"slug":41,"hasResults":42,"nctId":43,"briefTitle":44,"officialTitle":45,"acronym":25,"eligibilityCriteria":46,"healthyVolunteers":47,"sex":48,"minAge":49,"maxAge":25,"enrollmentInfo":50,"targetDuration":25,"studyType":53,"phases":54,"briefSummary":56,"conditions":57,"keywords":60,"overallStatus":71,"whyStopped":25,"lastUpdateSubmitDate":72,"lastUpdatePostDateStruct":73,"startDateStruct":76,"completionDateStruct":78,"leadSponsor":80,"locationsCount":25},{"fullName":5,"class":6},"National University of Singapore","OTHER",[8,14],{"label":9,"type":10,"description":11,"interventionNames":12},"AI-delivered emotional wellbeing support","EXPERIMENTAL","Participants in this arm will complete four sessions with an AI-powered mental health chatbot over four weeks. Each session will last approximately 20 minutes and take place via Zoom. The chatbot provides structured emotional support informed by CBT principles, including identifying unhelpful thinking patterns and coping behaviours, delivering thought restructuring and compassion-focused techniques, and assigning weekly reflection-based homework. The intervention is designed to promote emotional wellbeing and alleviate mild anxiety and depressive symptoms.",[13],"Behavioral: AI-delivered emotional wellbeing support",{"label":15,"type":16,"description":17,"interventionNames":18},"Inactive control (neutral writing tasks)","PLACEBO_COMPARATOR","Participants in this arm will complete four 20-minute sessions over four weeks involving neutral writing tasks unrelated to mental health. Writing prompts cover non-emotive topics (e.g., daily routines, neutral observations) and do not include emotional support, feedback, or guidance. This arm serves as an inactive control condition to isolate the effect of the chatbot intervention on emotional wellbeing and perceived empathy.",[19],"Other: Neutral writing tasks",[21,26],{"type":22,"name":9,"description":23,"armGroupLabels":24,"otherNames":25},"BEHAVIORAL","Participants in this arm will complete four 20-minute sessions with an AI-powered chatbot designed to deliver CBT-based emotional wellbeing support. The chatbot provides conversational guidance using techniques such as cognitive restructuring, behavioural activation, and emotion validation. Sessions are delivered via Zoom, and participants receive structured homework after each session to reinforce learning. The chatbot was not custom-built for this study but is an existing tool provided to NUS students as part of their digital mental health benefits.",[9],null,{"type":6,"name":27,"description":28,"armGroupLabels":29,"otherNames":25},"Neutral writing tasks","Participants in this arm will complete four 20-minute sessions of neutral writing tasks unrelated to mental health. Prompts include writing factually about daily routines or describing an object in detail. The content is emotionally neutral to act as a comparison for the chatbot intervention. Sessions are conducted online via Zoom.",[15],[31],{"name":32,"role":33,"phone":34,"phoneExt":25,"email":35},"Pak (Martin) Hei Ng, Trainee Clinical Psychologist","CONTACT","‪+65 9616 0572‬","e1350419@u.nus.edu",{"type":37,"investigatorFullName":38,"investigatorTitle":39,"investigatorAffiliation":5,"oldNameTitle":25,"oldOrganization":25},"PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR","Dr Oliver Suendermann","Ph.D.","100590286","effectiveness-of-ai-chatbots-in-improving-students-general-wellbeing-100590286",false,"NCT06965439","Effectiveness of AI Chatbots in Improving Students' General Wellbeing","Evaluating the Effectiveness of AI Chatbots in Improving Students' General Wellbeing","Inclusion Criteria:\n\nCurrent undergraduate student at the National University of Singapore (NUS)\n\nAged 21 years and above\n\nProficient in English\n\nNot currently undergoing psychological treatment or taking psychiatric medication\n\nNo history of self-harm or suicide\n\nScores below 10 on both the GAD-7 and PHQ-9 (i.e., subclinical levels of anxiety and depression)\n\nExclusion Criteria:\n\nCurrently undergoing psychological treatment or counselling\n\nCurrently taking psychiatric medication\n\nHistory of self-harm or suicidal ideation\n\nScores ≥10 on the GAD-7 and\u002For PHQ-9, indicating moderate to severe anxiety or depression\n\nInability to provide informed consent or comply with study procedures",true,"ALL","18 Years",{"count":51,"type":52},172,"ESTIMATED","INTERVENTIONAL",[55],"NA","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:\n\nCan the chatbot provide emotional validation and be perceived as empathic?\n\nDoes the chatbot reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression and improve wellbeing more than an inactive control condition?\n\nResearchers 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.\n\nParticipants will:\n\nComplete baseline wellbeing assessments\n\nBe randomised to:\n\nFour 20-minute chatbot sessions providing personalised support using cognitive-behavioural and compassion-focused techniques (intervention group), or\n\nFour 20-minute neutral writing sessions unrelated to mental health (control group)\n\nComplete post-session and follow-up wellbeing questionnaires\n\nAll 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.",[58,59],"Control Condition","Intervention",[61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70],"Writing task","Mental health chatbot","Digital mental health","Emotional wellbeing","Subclinical anxiety","Subclinical depression","University students","AI intervention","Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)","Resilience","NOT_YET_RECRUITING","2025-05-01",{"date":74,"type":75},"2025-05-11","ACTUAL",{"date":77,"type":52},"2025-08-01",{"date":79,"type":52},"2025-10-31",{"name":5,"class":6}]