Parenting Journal · Volume 1 · Issue 2 · Licensed source edition
Current Landscape and Future Directions for Mental Health Conversational Agents for Youth: Scoping Review
Originally published 2025-02-28 · JMIR Medical Informatics
JMIR Publications Inc. · DOI 10.2196/62758 ↗
AI / system type
Mixed AI review including many rule-based systems and emerging LLM approaches
Family implicationsDesign, ethics, stakeholder or technical evidence with child/family implications; household benefits are not assumed.
The AI connection
Mixed AI review including many rule-based systems and emerging LLM approaches. Reviews friendly conversational interfaces while exposing limited safety and ethical reporting.
Why this reading matters
Maps substantial design, computational and safety gaps in youth conversational agents, providing context rather than an endorsement of AI therapy.
Editorial reading guide · Kindness
What evidence lies behind claims that a youth chatbot offers empathic support?
Reviews friendly conversational interfaces while exposing limited safety and ethical reporting.
Study context
39 studies of youth mental-health conversational agents
Age / stage: Review defines youth as 15–24; included studies span adolescents and young adults
Read with three questions
- Which systems actually used AI rather than prewritten rules?
- What safety features and ethical issues were reported?
- How do young-adult studies limit application to children?
Keep the limits in view
Many systems were rule-based prototypes, not GenAI; heterogeneous studies and young-adult inclusion limit child-specific conclusions. Positive acceptability is not clinical effectiveness; long-term safety and benefit remain unresolved.
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Original authorship, publication date, journal and DOI are preserved. This issue’s TRICK placement and reading questions are editorial additions, not claims made by the original authors.
Jinkyung Katie Park; Vivek K Singh; Pamela Wisniewski; Christian Lovis; Lauren Magoun; Bill Thies (2025). Current Landscape and Future Directions for Mental Health Conversational Agents for Youth: Scoping Review JMIR Medical Informatics. https://doi.org/10.2196/62758
Permissions checked against the saved article notice; repository publication notices screened 2026-11-04. This is not a new peer-review decision. The source authors and publishers are not represented as endorsing this issue.