Nearly half of severely distressed adults in study used AI for mental-health support

Among 584 Israeli adults who use generative AI, 47.0 percent of those reporting severe distress had sought emotional or mental-health help from it.

Abstract editorial illustration accompanying the article: Nearly half of severely distressed adults in study used AI for mental-health support

Editorial illustration — not from the study.

Researchers surveyed Israeli adults who use general-purpose generative AI about their use of these systems for emotional support, coping advice or mental-health assistance. Overall, 29.3 percent said they had used AI this way at least once; the figure rose to 47.0 percent among respondents reporting severe psychological distress.

Distress was the strongest psychological correlate of AI use for mental-health support. Younger age and female gender also predicted use. Attachment anxiety was linked to use before distress was included in the analysis, but the association was no longer significant after accounting for distress.

Who turned to AI

Among 584 adult generative-AI users, 29.3 percent reported turning to a general-purpose AI system at least once for emotional support, coping advice or mental-health assistance. The proportion was 47.0 percent among those reporting severe distress. These contacts ranged from a single exchange to sustained use. Psychological distress was the strongest correlate of use; younger age and female gender also predicted it. Attachment anxiety was associated with use, but not after distress was included in the analysis. Attachment avoidance had a negative but nonsignificant association with use.

Why the use matters

General-purpose AI appears to be a low-barrier source of informal mental-health support that is used disproportionately by people reporting severe distress. That level of uptake raises questions about whether consumer-facing systems respond safely to people in crisis, and whether they could displace clinical care. The researchers say these systems need systematic evaluation of safety, crisis-response quality and possible clinical-displacement risks.

Evidence and limits

The findings come from a nonprobability sample of 584 Israeli adults who use generative AI and are based on self-reported survey measures of attachment, psychological distress and AI use. The study identifies associations rather than showing that distress causes people to use AI, or that AI use changes their mental health. The reported use includes anything from one exchange to sustained use, so the figures do not show how often people used these systems or what support they received. The sample also does not establish how widely the findings apply beyond these respondents.

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