The article is presenting results of controlled study of effectiveness of Elomia chatbot in reducing tendency to depression, anxiety and negative emotional effects. Elomia developed using artificial intelligence technologies. In the process of developing a chatbot following technologies were used: RoBERTa(NER) for identification names and locations; COSMIC for identification of human emotions; DIALOGPT for answers generation; DistilBERT (SQuAD) for pointing the most relevant information in the script; GECToR for spelling check. Elomia is able to identify the main psychological problems of the client and offer him the most suitable support option using first aid techniques and cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy. To check the effectiveness of the chatbot it was conducted a study that included three stages: 1) the formation of experimental and control samples; 2) baseline testing; 3) final testing. The study used psychological research methods: 1) Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) to diagnose a tendency to depression; 2) General Anxiety Disorder7 (GAD-7) to diagnose a tendency to generalized anxiety disorder; 3) Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) to diagnose of prevailing (positive / negative) emotional affects. 412 volunteers (202 women, 210 men, ages 19 to 23 years old) who identified their tendency to depression, anxiety and low mood were selected in students social networks groups of Kharkiv region as participants of research. It was found that regular usage of Elomia contributes to a significant reduction in the high tendency to depression (up to 28%), anxiety (up to 31%), and negative affects (up to 15%). Chatbot, artificial intelligence, depression, anxiety, negative states correction, mental health.
Depression and anxiety are the two most common disorders that seriously affect the quality of life
of people of different age and social groups. The prevalence of anxiety and depression problems is
evidenced by WHO data, as well as an increasing number of studies on this issue [
The consequences of depressive and anxious conditions are particularly painful for people who are going through age-related crises and experience reassessment of their own values and changes in self
Depressive and anxiety disorders spectrum include: F31 Bipolar disorder, F32 Major depressive
2021 Copyright for this paper by its authors. the WHO, about 16% of all mental illnesses on the planet are caused by disorders of the anxietydepressive spectrum.
Moreover, hundreds of thousands of people around the world suffer from the so-called “precursors” of such disorders: increased levels of situational anxiety, low mood, anhedonia, feelings of loneliness, acute dissatisfaction with interpersonal relationships. People who suffer with these issues rarely seek help from psychotherapists, psychologists and counselors. They even tend to hide their emotional struggling from loved ones. Long-term attempts to cope with such experiences without outside help often have negative consequences for mental health, which results in the occurrence of disorders of the anxiety-depressive spectrum.
People of the described group need additional support, which can be provided by “conversational” services based on artificial intelligence and psychology techniques.
Statistical analysis with usage of chi-square criterion confirmed the equality of the subjects distributions by age and gender (no significant differences in the distribution of data were found).
Among selected participants there were: 13,41% with tendency to mild, 47,56% with tendency to moderate, 18,29% with tendency to moderate severe and 20,73% with tendency to severe depression; 18,29% with tendency to moderate and 81,7% with tendency to severe anxiety.
The obtained groups were once again checked for compliance with the selection criteria of respondents (table 2).
PHQ-9 GAD-7
The data in the table clearly show that the average indicator of depression in the experimental and control group corresponds to the indicators of tendency to moderate (10-14 points) depression; the average anxiety score corresponds to a tendency to a severe (15-21 points) level of anxiety; the average indicator of tendency to negative affects corresponds to a moderate level (20-40 points); the average indicator of the tendency to positive affects corresponds to a moderate level (20-40 points).
A comparison was also made of the average indicators of the respondents of the two groups using the T-test for independent samples on the level of tendency to anxiety, depression and emotional affects (table 3). 95% Confidence
The obtained results of the T-test indicate the absence of significant differences in the level of the studied characteristics at the first stage of the study.
After the completion of baseline testing, the respondents of the experimental group were given unlimited access to Elomia chatbot for 4 weeks. Respondents were instructed that they can use Elomia at any time of the day to the extent that they need. Thus, each participant in the study had the opportunity to control the amount of communication with Elomia, depending on their needs.
Respondents in the control group were asked to use the Depression self-help guide developed by The National Health Service of the United Kingdom to correct negative emotional states [12]. This guide also contains a set of cognitive-behavioral techniques that help to deal with non-adaptive thoughts and to reduce anxiety and depression. Respondents were instructed that they can contact the guide at any time when they feel the need for it without restrictions.
As a result of a survey after 4 weeks of the study it was revealed that the respondents of the experimental group used chatbot with different frequencies and intensities (Figure 1).
Retesting was performed in study groups 4 weeks after the baseline. To identify changes in the level of anxiety and depression in the study groups the T-test for paired samples was conducted separately in the experimental (table 4) and control (table 5) study groups.
95% Confidence
16.880 8.396 0.00
T-test showed significant differences in all study indicators. This means that users of Elomia after 4 weeks of its usage noted a significant decrease in the symptom of anxiety, depression and negative affects. Moreover, there is an increase in positive affects, which manifests itself in a more calm, balanced state, high self-esteem, confidence in the future.
The participants in the experimental group noted that after using Elomia, they became calmer, more self-confident. Many noted that they have become less likely to experience aggression towards others, fear, sense of hopelessness. More than 70% of the participants noted that they returned to using the chatbot in moments of increased anxiety, panic attack, self-doubt, loneliness. 95% Confidence
A similar comparison made in the control group did not detect significant statistical shifts, which indicates the inefficiency of introspection methods in dealing with signs of depression, anxiety and negative affects compared to using Elomia chatbot.
Comparison of the average indicators of depression tendency in the experimental and control groups allows us to evaluate the effect of the work of respondents with Elomia chatbot. So, after 4 weeks of using the chatbot the average indicator of depression tendency moved from the “Moderate Depression” zone to the “Mild Depression” zone, while in the control group it remained at the same level.
The main reason for such results is that Elomia does not immerse the client in dull and lonely thoughts. On the contrary, it creates the conditions for self-disclosure of the person, gives the opportunity to speak out. In addition, the techniques presented in the application allow a person with depressive tendencies to reduce stress levels and feel a positive attitude towards themselves. 30.00 20.00 10.00
The average indicator of tendency to anxiety in the experimental group moved from a zone of severe to a zone of moderate anxiety. In the control group the anxiety rate remained as high as during the baseline testing.
These results are associated with the systematic use of grounding techniques that AI offers to anxious clients. While in a state of anxiety, a person often becomes obsessed with unproductive experiences and thoughts that prevent him from finding contact with a calming reality. Grounding techniques allow a person to return to reality through simple, repetitive actions (drawing, creating shapes with simple objects). Elomia allows clients to use these techniques on their own in times of anxiety or fear.
PANAS (Positive affect)
The tendency to negative affects in the experimental group decreased, while in the control group remained unchanged.
The participants in the experimental group, after using the chatbot, stopped experiencing fear, nervousness, shame and distress as the leading emotions. In addition, there was a decrease in emotions such as irritability, guilt and hostility. Respondents noted that a decrease in negative experiences led to better relationships with family and friends, which in turn created an additional circle of psychological support around them. Thus, the use of the chatbot contributed not only to the reduction of negative feelings directed by a person towards himself, but also the manifestation of negative emotions directed to others.
PHQ-9
GAD-7
During the final interview, the respondents who used the chatbot noted that during communication they became more self-confident, started to understand life problems differently, began to think about how they live, felt “the ground under their feet”.
As the most significant change, participants noted the change in the outlook on the world around them as more positive, friendly and filled with resources. Having received support from the chatbot, the participants realized that it was not a shame to ask for help and it was absolutely normal, which took their thinking out of a dead corner.
Respondents in the control group also noted the usefulness of the depression self-help guide. But they also pointed out that in the process of reading the manual they had questions and ideas that they had no one to discuss with, and attempts to introduce changes into their lives without outside support came up against resistance from relatives. The inability to bring changes to life reduced the motivation to re-visit the guide and increased the overall level of frustration and self-discontent.
Regular usage of Elomia contributes to a significant reduction in the high tendency to depression (up to 28%), anxiety (up to 31%), and negative affects (up to 15%). This reduction is achieved through the use of "conversational therapy" with elements of cognitive-behavioral techniques. At the same time usage of such techniques without a conversational elements does not lead to significant changes in the emotional state of clients within the indicated time frames.
Elomia is a powerful tool for providing first aid to people suffering from anxiety and depression. Its systematic use can reduce the level of negative affects. It is important to note that it cannot act as a full-fledged substitute for psychotherapy or medical treatment for depression. Rather, it reduces the chances of the person using it to experience serious mental illness.