It’s estimated that as many as 20% of adolescents may experience some kind of mental health problem in any given year. What’s more, 50% of mental health problems are already established by the time we’re 14, and 75% by the time we’re 24.
Research from the University of Cambridge suggests an unlikely ally. The researchers experimented with using a child-sized humanoid robot to administer standard psychological questionnaires to children aged between eight and 13 in order to assess their mental wellbeing.
Effective assessment
The study found that the children seemed more than willing to confide in the robot, and in many instances shared information that hadn’t been shared with anyone else. As such, the researchers believe that the robots could be an effective addition to the mental health assessment process, although they are at pains to point out that they don’t advocate replacing professionals with the robots.
While mental health challenges have been rising among young people, the sector is beset by staff shortages that hamper effective interventions. I’ve written previously about the potential for virtual therapists to help address this shortage, and the robots offer similar promise.
“Children are quite tactile, and they’re drawn to technology,” the researchers explain. “If they’re using a screen-based tool, they’re withdrawn from the physical world. But robots are perfect because they’re in the physical world – they’re more interactive, so the children are more engaged.”
After sessions, the children revealed that they enjoyed talking with the robot, and some even revealed information to the robot that they had not shared either in the online questionnaire or in person.
Interestingly, however, the children interacted differently with the robot depending on their wellbeing concerns. For instance, they found that children with concerns were better able to share their true feelings and experiences, which led to more negative response ratings when they completed the questionnaire.
“Since the robot we use is child-sized, and completely non-threatening, children might see the robot as a confidante – they feel like they won’t get into trouble if they share secrets with it,” the researchers explain. “Other researchers have found that children are more likely to divulge private information – like that they’re being bullied, for example – to a robot than they would be to an adult.”
The results suggest that robots could play a useful role in augmenting the work of mental health teams. To further explore the matter, the researchers hope to expand their research and explore whether similar results emerge when conversing via different media, such as video chat.
