Um chatbot psicoeducativo para elucidar e diminuir sintomas de ansiedade, ruminação e depressão

Abstract

Context: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), suicide is the second leading cause of death for young people aged 15 to 28, which generally may have been the result of a depressive or anxiety disorder. With the Covid-19 pandemic and a new world emerging, social isolation could confirm and increase these numbers, demanding automatic and scalable alternatives for care, education and support for young people, such as Chatbots. Objective: Build and evaluate a Chatbot that dialogues with teenagers and college students, in order to disseminate mental health and improve symptoms of depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation. Method: A Chatbot was created, with dialogues based on Rumination-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (RFCBT) and an emotional literacy model, which focus on observing the interaction between feelings and thought actions. For evaluations, two controlled experiments were carried out, one with adolescents and the other with university students, analyzed and authorized by the Ethics Committee, as well as based on protocols and tests standardized by the psychology area. Results: Chatbot Rumi for the Brazilian population that, after use, when it comes to Rumination, obtained a significant difference in relation to the adolescents’ initial state, with a p-value of 0.014, showing a decrease in these symptoms. Regarding university students, there was a significant difference for symptoms of Rumination, Anxiety and Depression, with a p-value less than 0.05. Conclusion: A chatbot with psychological therapies aimed at the psychoeducation strategy can help with feelings of anxiety, depression and rumination.