A recent study found that only 20 percent of students have used the government’s mental health support program, and that they tend to first ask artificial intelligence (AI) when they encounter emotional problems.
Taiwan Counseling Psychologist Union (TCPU) conducted a survey on university students’ stress from April to September, collecting 2,558 responses, 70 percent of which were from women.
The union announced the results at a news conference in Taipei today.
Photo: Lin Chih-yi, Taipei Times
The survey found that 97.1 percent of students support the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s mental health support program for young adults, but only 20.3 percent have actually used it.
When they encounter mental health issues, some students first consult AI tools to regulate their emotions, said Chen Po-lin (陳柏霖), a professor at National Taipei University of Education's Department of Psychology and Counseling.
This shows that emerging technologies are gradually being applied in the mental health field, and the industry is even developing related platforms, Chen said.
However, Chen warned that AI tools still have limitations and can make mistakes, especially when asked to name or diagnose a mental illness.
There have been cases abroad where consulting AI has led to suicide, which is a big concern in the academic community, he said.
Talking to AI can provide support and comfort, helping people feel heard and better understand their emotions, TCPU deputy chair Wang Yu-ming (王郁茗) said.
As long as people also communicate with their friends and check in with reality, then AI can be a useful tool, Wang said.
Schools should teach students how to properly use AI, so they are not merely providing data to train it, she added.
The survey also assessed students’ social emotional learning (SEL), including self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, interpersonal relationships and responsible decisionmaking to evaluate students’ mental resilience.
The 40.5 percent of students who rated their performance as “slightly below their actual ability” had the highest SEL scores of 3.02 points, whereas the 4.9 percent who considered their performance “far below their actual ability” had the lowest SEL scores of 2.85 points.
Humility and self-reflection are the key to increasing SEL, Chen said, adding that women performed better than men in terms of understanding others’ emotions, social interactions and making responsible decisions.
National Taiwan Normal University Students’ Union president Sean Huang (黃莨騰) said that universities can provide more resources, adding that students who seek counseling assistance often cannot make an appointment.
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