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

NCT07316647 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: IRB25-0827
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 383
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

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.

Conditions

Youth Mental Health; Anxiety; Depression

Keywords

growth mindset; brief digital mental health intervention

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Change in Behavior and Feelings Survey - Internalizing Subscale (full sample)

  Trajectories of self-reported symptoms of anxiety and depression from the 6-item (each item rated on a 0-4 scale, with higher ratings indicating more symptoms) Internalizing Subscale of the Behavior and Feelings Survey. Total scores range from 0 to 24, with higher scores indicating more symptoms (BFS; Weisz et al., 2020).

  Baseline, 3 weeks, 7 weeks

• Student Perceived Program Acceptability and Helpfulness

  Assessed via the Program Feedback Scale (Schleider et al., 2019). This scale consists of 7 items rated on a 1 to 5 scale, with higher scores indicating greater acceptability and helpfulness.

  Immediately post-intervention

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Change in Behavior and Feelings Survey - Internalizing Subscale (elevated subsample)

  Baseline, 3 weeks, 7 weeks

• Change in Growth Mindset Beliefs (full sample and elevated subsample)

  Baseline, 3 weeks, 7 weeks

• Growth mindset reflections (intervention group)

  3 weeks, 7 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Growth mindset training

EXPERIMENTAL

Receives growth mindset training via 45-minute interaction with conversational AI

Behavioral: Growth mindset training using conversational AI

Usual classroom activities

NO INTERVENTION

Performs usual classroom activities during the intervention period; receives delayed and shortened intervention at the conclusion of the study

Interventions

Growth mindset training using conversational AI BEHAVIORAL

Participants will interact with an AI chatbot for approximately 45 minutes. The tutorial has a structured script and pauses at section boundaries to allow for brief interactions. It also contains culturally-grounded comics and illustrations with role-playing scenarios to engage with students.

Growth mindset training

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Youth in grades 6-8 at our partner school
• Youth assents to participate and a parent/guardian provides passive consent (does not opt-out of participation)

You may not qualify if:

• N/A

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Harvard University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Partner school

Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Weisz JR, Vaughn-Coaxum RA, Evans SC, Thomassin K, Hersh J, Ng MY, Lau N, Lee EH, Raftery-Helmer JN, Mair P. Efficient Monitoring of Treatment Response during Youth Psychotherapy: The Behavior and Feelings Survey. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2020 Nov-Dec;49(6):737-751. doi: 10.1080/15374416.2018.1547973. Epub 2019 Jan 18.

  PMID: 30657721 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Anxiety Disorders; Depression

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Mental Disorders; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior

Study Officials

• John R Weisz, Ph.D.

  Harvard University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Henry Ford II Research Professor of the Social Sciences, Department of Psychology

Model Details: Half the students will be randomly assigned to 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 intervention.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 5, 2025
• First Posted: January 5, 2026
• Study Start: November 3, 2025
• Primary Completion: January 9, 2026
• Study Completion: January 9, 2026
• Last Updated: January 27, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

IN (1)