Grant: DRA : Canada Graduate Research Scholarship - Doctoral Program (CGRS D)

Emotion regulation difficulties are contributing to rising mental health concerns among Canadian postsecondary students. Many students cannot get timely support due to common barriers (e.g., costs, wait times) and gender-related barriers (e.g., stigma, discrimination) that disproportionately limit access. Consequently, many students are exploring ChatGPT to manage their emotions because it offers affordable and on-demand support that resembles human conversation. Despite reports suggesting students perceive ChatGPT as helpful for emotional support, research is needed to thoroughly assess whether ChatGPT can provide students with a safe and engaging support that improves their emotion regulation. This proposed research has two parts. First, to inform a large-scale randomized study, we will conduct a four-week randomized feasibility trial with 60 students. Half will be assigned to an intervention group (daily use of ChatGPT for emotion regulation) and half to a control group (receiving an emotion regulation skills handout). After two and four weeks, we will assess whether a larger study is feasible by examining the number of students who join and complete the study, their satisfaction with and use of the intervention, and any safety issues. We will also estimate if there are differences in emotion regulation between groups. Second, we will invite 30 students of diverse gender identities to participate in interviews after using ChatGPT for one week to support emotion regulation, to understand factors that facilitate or hinder engagement and perceived safety. This research will provide needed insight into whether ChatGPT positively impacts postsecondary students' emotion regulation and will guide a larger study to appropriately determine its usefulness. This research will also provide guidance on whether, and how, ChatGPT can safely and equitably complement existing services to make mental health support more accessible.