Friend or Therapist? A Systematic Literature Review on Chatbots and Mental Health in Young People

Paper i proceeding, 2026

In this systematic literature review, we analyze 58 papers from the Human-Computer Interaction and Psychology literature over the last decade to understand how researchers have studied chatbots and their impact on mental health in young people (aged 16-25), covering mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. Many studies target general mental health conditions and often utilize self-help methods. Concerning types of relationships, we found that friendship and therapeutic relationships were sometimes brought up, but in many cases, the relationship aspect was not considered. Our findings highlight the need for continued interdisciplinary research on how young people use chatbots, including how avatar design may reinforce or reduce biases and stereotypes. We also suggest recommendations for chatbot development and research that can help cover the research gaps we have observed.