Using Conversational AI to Teach Growth Mindset Skills to Youths in India

This study aims to test whether a brief digital intervention using conversational AI can improve mental health outcomes among school-aged youth (grades 6-8) in India, where most young people with mental health issues do not receive treatment. The intervention teaches "growth mindset", the belief that skills and abilities can improve with effort, via a 45-minute interactive conversation with an AI chatbot (spread across two class periods). A randomized controlled trial with approximately 430 students at a private, English-medium school in Bangalore will evaluate whether interacting with the chatbot can reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression while enhancing growth mindset beliefs. Half the students will receive the full intervention at baseline, while the other half (control group) will complete a usual school assignment; after 7 weeks, the control group will receive a shortened (15-minute) version of the growth mindset intervention. Participants will complete 10-minute surveys at baseline, 3 weeks, and 7 weeks, after which all students will receive a printed booklet with all the information from the chatbot. This study represents one of the first randomized controlled trials evaluating conversational AI as a brief digital intervention for youth mental health.

NCT Number	NCT07316647
Lead Sponsor	Harvard University
Conditions	Youth Mental Health, Anxiety, Depression
Enrollment	383 participants
Start Date	2025-11-03
Primary Completion	2026-01-09 (estimated)
Study Completion	2026-01-09 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-01-27