RecruitingNot ApplicableNCT07430800

Personalized AI-Driven Models in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety

SCH: Personalized AI-Driven Models for Supporting User Engagement and Adherence in Health Interventions: Validation in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety

Sponsor

University of Southern California

Enrollment

140 participants

Start Date

Mar 30, 2026

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Conditions

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Summary

Untreated anxiety undermines long-term physical and emotional wellbeing, especially among college students, with rates worsening since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the leading evidence-based intervention for anxiety, but many students fail to complete exercises between CBT sessions, reducing its effectiveness. Socially assistive robots (SARs) help promote adherence to home-based practice in the context of elder care, social skill learning, and physical therapy, but it is unknown how SARs can enhance CBT. The specific objective of this research is to develop personalized CBT SARs that can support CBT compliance for college students with anxiety. To meet the goals of the proposed work, these studies will determine how SAR personalization based on implicit and explicit feedback can help promote greater CBT compliance and anxiety reduction outcomes for students.

Eligibility

Min Age: 18 Years

Inclusion Criteria8

Are 18 years of age or older
Are university students
Are able to communicate in English
Have corrected-to-normal vision and hearing
Consent to have audio/video/interaction data recorded as part of the study
Have a GAD-7 (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 item) score of 5 or greater, indicating mild to elevated levels of self-reported symptoms of anxiety
Have a lower than minimal level of suicidality risk as measured by the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) during screening ("NO" responses to items 3, 4, 5, and 6 on C-SSRS)
Having access to home WiFi

Exclusion Criteria8

Are less than 18 years of age
Are not university students
Are not able to communicate in English
Do not have corrected-to-normal vision and hearing
Do not consent to have audio/video/interaction data recorded as part of the study
Have a GAD-7 (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 item) score of 4 or lower.
Higher than a minimal level of suicidality risk as measured by the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) during screening ("YES" responses to items 3, 4, 5, or 6 on C-SSRS)
Don't have access to home WiFi

Interested in this trial?

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Interventions

BEHAVIORALExplicit CBT SAR Personalization for 6 weeks

College student participants with clinically elevated anxiety will engage in 6 weeks of in-home CBT daily exercises with an explicitly personalized CBT SAR in the participants' homes. Participants will receive personalized re-engagement feedback delivered by the SAR will be based on explicit user feedback regarding their subjective preferences related to the robot attributes and engagement features.

BEHAVIORALImplicit CBT SAR Personalization for 6 weeks

College student participants with clinically elevated anxiety will engage in 6 weeks of in-home CBI daily exercises with an implicitly personalized CBT SAR in the participants' homes. The personalized re-engagement feedback provided by the SAR will be based on machine learning methods applied to implicit visual and auditory cues.

BEHAVIORALControl CBT SAR for 6 weeks

College student participants with clinically elevated anxiety will engage in 6 weeks of in-home CBT daily exercises with a non-personalized CBT SAR. Participants will not have the capability to personalize the robot's attributes, and this condition will be a control baseline comparison group for the personalized intervention conditions described above.