Use of Generative AI for Mental Health Advice Among US Adolescents and Young Adults
ResearchPosted on rand.org Nov 24, 2025Published in: JAMA Network Open, Volume 8, No. 11 (November 2025). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.42281
Since the launch of large language model (LLM) chatbots, use of this form of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has grown rapidly, especially among adolescents and young adults. Concurrently, the US is experiencing a youth mental health crisis. In the past year, 18% of adolescents aged 12 to 17 years had a major depressive episode; 40% of these received no mental health care.
It is unclear how many adolescents and young adults use LLM chatbots for advice or help when experiencing emotional distress. We report results from the first nationally representative survey of US adolescents and young adults aged 12 to 21 years examining the prevalence, frequency, and perceived helpfulness of advice from generative AI when feeling sad, angry, or nervous.
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- Copyright: Ryan K. McBain, Robert Bozick, Melissa Diliberti, Li Ang Zhang, Fang Zhang, Alyssa Burnett, Aaron Kofner, Benjamin Rader, Joshua Breslau, Bradley D. Stein, Ateev Mehrotra, Lori Uscher Pines, Jonathan Cantor, Hao Yu ; Open Access
- Publisher: American Medical Association
- Availability: Non-RAND
- Year: 2025
- Pages: 4
- Document Number: EP-71039
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