To investigate the psychological factors, including stigma, social anxiety, and privacy concerns, influencing college students' transition from traditional psychological consultations to GenAI virtual counseling.
Key Findings:
Privacy concerns, social anxiety, and stigma surrounding mental illness significantly enhance students' inclination toward AI consultations, indicating a need for targeted interventions.
AI interaction comfort and accessibility mediate the relationship between psychological barriers and switching intention, suggesting that improving these factors could facilitate transitions.
Perceived AI information quality moderates the influence of privacy concerns, social anxiety, and stigma on the willingness to switch, highlighting the importance of quality in AI services.
Interpretation:
The study reveals that psychological barriers can act as drivers for students to seek AI-based consultations under certain conditions, particularly when the AI service is perceived as accessible and of high quality.
Limitations:
The study focuses solely on the college student population, which may limit generalizability.
Data collection was conducted through online questionnaires, which may introduce response bias, particularly if the questionnaire design did not account for diverse perspectives.
Conclusion:
The findings provide a theoretical foundation for developing intelligent psychological support systems that meet students' needs, emphasizing the importance of addressing psychological barriers and enhancing AI service quality.
