Personalized AI-driven robot companions to support CBT for anxiety in college students
Official title: SCH: Personalized AI-Driven Models for Supporting User Engagement and Adherence in Health Interventions: Validation in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety
Run by University of Southern California · NCT07430800 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This test tries whether personalized AI-driven robot companions can help college students with anxiety stick to CBT exercises and reduce symptoms.
Quick facts
| Study type | Interventional |
|---|---|
| Ages | 18 Years and up |
| Sex | All |
| Enrollment | 140 (estimated) |
| Sponsor | University of Southern California Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (Los Angeles, California) |
| Status | Recruiting |
| Started | March 30, 2026 |
| Main results expected | February 14, 2028 |
| Study ends | August 15, 2028 |
| Registry record updated | June 8, 2026 |
| Trial ID | NCT07430800 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
Is this trial a fit for you?
✓Likely a good fit
Ideal candidates are English-speaking university students aged 18 or older with a GAD-7 score of 5 or higher, access to home Wi‑Fi, and willingness to have audio/video/interaction data recorded.
✕Probably not a fit
People with minimal anxiety (GAD-7 ≤4), those with higher-than-minimal suicidality risk, non-students, non-English speakers, or those unwilling to have recordings made are excluded and unlikely to benefit from participation.
A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.
What this trial studies
Researchers will randomly assign consenting university students with mild-or-greater anxiety to use a socially assistive robot (SAR) for daily CBT exercises at home over a six-week period. Participants will receive a baseline in-home setup and daily reminders, and will be randomized to a control SAR, an explicitly personalized SAR, or an implicitly personalized SAR that adapts from interaction data. The team will collect behavioral, interaction, and symptom data (including GAD-7 scores) to compare adherence to exercises and changes in anxiety. Investigators will provide remote support for technical issues and will record audio/video/interaction data as part of outcome measurement.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the approach could help students complete CBT exercises more consistently and lower anxiety symptoms through personalized robot support.
How similar studies have gone: Socially assistive robots have improved adherence in elder care and physical therapy contexts, but applying AI-driven personalization to support CBT for college students is novel and less tested.
Who can join: the full rules
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
* 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 Criteria:
* 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
Where it's running
-
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California, United States Recruiting
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How to take part
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
- Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.