The DOI matches its Crossref record; 27 of the 27 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
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
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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“This is consistent with evidence that loneliness and social vulnerability shape the psychological outcomes of AI companion use (Ciriello et al., 2026; Lai et al., 2025).”
From When loneliness amplifies the risk of problematic emotional dependence: perceived anthropomorphism and basic psychological need satisfaction in AI companion use (2026) · cites this paper as Lai et al., 2025
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“According to the findings, male users were more inclined to utilize UCAI-C when experiencing loneliness, which may relate to the societal expectation for males to express emotional needs less frequently (60, 61).”
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A scoping review on the mental health harms of LLM-based chatbots
Diel, A., Torous, J., Cuijpers, P., Kleesiek, J., Nensa, F., Weber, N., Faust, F., Lalgi, T. J., Mellis, F. S., Teufel, M., et al. (2026) · npj Digital Medicine · doi:10.1038/s41746-026-03054-x · Cited by 4
“…and chatbot fl ow) 112 , loneliness, fear of judgment, and perceived LLM-CB sentience 102,113 , media dependency 114 , depression (mediated by loneliness and moderated by mind perception) 115 , and social exclusion (mediated by social anxiety, loneliness, and fear of negative evaluation) 116 .”
Liu, T., Shih, R.-M., Luo, T., & Jin, S. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1900817
Metadata
- Authors
- Lai, L., Pan, Y., Xu, R., & Jiang, Y.
- Venue
- Frontiers in Public Health
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2025-05-30
- Volume
- 13
- ISSN
- 2296-2565
- PMC
- PMC12162938
- Cited by
- 34
- References
- 27
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