研究AI伴侣对心理健康的双面影响，揭示使用中的情感依赖与潜在风险。
Mental Health Impacts of AI Companions: Triangulating Social Media Quasi-Experiments, User Perspectives, and Relational Theory
- 结合社交媒体数据分析与用户访谈，多角度评估AI伴侣影响。
- 发现使用后孤独、抑郁及自杀念头语言表达上升，但也有情感支持作用。
- 适合关注AI社交应用设计伦理与心理健康的研究者和开发者参考。
以Replika为代表的AI伴侣聊天机器人日益流行，提供共情互动，但其心理社会影响尚不明确。本研究通过大规模纵向Reddit数据分析，采用分层倾向得分匹配与双重差分回归，发现使用AI伴侣后，用户在悲伤表达和人际关注方面增加，同时孤独、抑郁及自杀意念的语言表达也上升。进一步通过18位用户的半结构化访谈，结合Knapp的关系发展模型进行主题分析，识别出从启动、升级到依恋的三阶段过程：AI伴侣提供情感认同与社交练习机会，但也存在过度依赖与退出风险。三重方法交叉验证后，提出设计建议：建立健康边界、支持有意识使用、促进表达而不引发依赖、显式呈现关系阶段，以最大化心理益处并降低风险。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
AI-powered companion chatbots (AICCs) such as Replika are increasingly popular, offering empathetic interactions, yet their psychosocial impacts remain unclear. We examined how engaging with AICCs shaped wellbeing and how users perceived these experiences. First, we conducted a large-scale quasi-experimental study of longitudinal Reddit data, applying stratified propensity score matching and Difference-in-Differences regression. Findings revealed mixed effects -- greater grief expression and interpersonal focus, alongside increases in language about loneliness, depression, and suicidal ideation. Second, we complemented these results with 18 semi-structured interviews, which we thematically analyzed and contextualized using Knapp's relationship development model. We identified trajectories of initiation, escalation, and bonding, wherein AICCs provided emotional validation and social rehearsal but also carried risks of over-reliance and withdrawal. Triangulating across methods, we offer design implications for AI companions that scaffold healthy boundaries, support mindful engagement, support disclosure without dependency, and surface relationship stages -- maximizing psychosocial benefits while mitigating risks.
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