A Study of the Attitudinal Mechanisms Underlying Young Users’ Use of Chatbots for Emotional Support—A Qualitative Analysis Based on the ABC Attitude Model
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: With the continuing rise in psychological stress among young people and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence technologies, chatbots have gradually become a new channel for emotional expression and emotional support among youth. Drawing on the ABC Attitude Model, this study applies grounded theory to analyze semi-structured interview data from 17 young users aged 15–34, exploring their attitudinal structure and behavioral responses when using chatbots for emotional support. The findings show that young users exhibit both instrumental endorsement and emotional dependence on chatbots, while simultaneously maintaining vigilance and skepticism regarding their empathic capacity, response quality, and privacy/security—forming a contradictory attitude in which “dependence and vigilance” coexist. On this basis, users develop behavioral regulation strategies such as boundary setting and control of usage frequency. The article constructs an interactive mechanism of “cognition–ambivalent attitude–behavioral intention,” revealing a pattern of reflexive dependence in youths’ practices of digital emotional support, and providing theoretical references and practical implications for the design of AI affective products and for youth mental-health services.
Author: Jing Li
Institution: Hangzhou Dianzi University
Language: English
Subfield: Applied Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4414145489