Is ChatGPT for Teens safe?

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1. 1

   The Effectiveness of AI Chatbots in Alleviating Mental Distress and Promoting Health Behaviors Among Adolescents and Young Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

   Journal of Medical Internet Research (Feng et al.)Published Nov 26, 2025Checked Oct 8, 2026

   “Out of 2495 records retrieved, 31 RCTs were included, comprising 29,637 participants; 26 studies were eligible for meta-analysis. Overall, AI chatbots demonstrated small-to-moderate effects in mitigating mental distress (standard mean difference [SMD] -0.35, 95% CI -0.46 to -0.24; P<.001) and promoting health behaviors (SMD 0.11, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.19; P=.006) in adolescents and young adults. Significant improvements were observed for depressive (SMD -0.43, 95% CI -0.62 to -0.23; P<.001), anxiety (SMD -0.37, 95% CI -0.58 to -0.17; P<.001), stress (SMD -0.41, 95% CI -0.50 to -0.31; P<.001), and psychosomatic symptoms (SMD -0.48, 95% CI -0.82 to -0.14; P=.006); negative affect (SMD -0.27, 95% CI -0.53 to -0.01; P=.04); and self-ambivalence and appearance distress (SMD -0.25, 95% CI -0.34 to -0.17; P=.01). This systematic review and meta-analysis highlights the potential of AI chatbots to address mental health challenges and promote health behaviors among adolescents and young adults. Retrieval-based dialog systems demonstrated consistent and reliable effects, while generative systems showed promise, but their overall effectiveness was inconclusive.”

2. 2

   Adolescents’ Interactions with AI-Powered Chatbots: A Scoping Review of Psychosocial and Well-Being Research (2022–2025)

   OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints) (Garofalo & Bruno)Published May 18, 2026Checked Oct 8, 2026

   “This project supports a scoping review examining how recent empirical research has studied adolescents’ interactions with AI-powered chatbots in psychosocial, well-being, and health-related contexts. Following PRISMA-ScR and JBI methodological guidance, the review mapped how these interactions have been conceptualized, investigated, and evaluated across different contexts and methodological approaches. Seventeen empirical studies involving adolescents aged 11–19 were identified and synthesized using an inductive thematic and methodological classification framework. Findings suggest that adolescents often perceive chatbots as accessible, supportive, and non-judgmental, while intervention studies reported modest short-term improvements in outcomes such as mood, body image, and self-efficacy. However, heterogeneous measures, limited follow-up, the absence of naturalistic studies, and unresolved privacy and safety concerns highlight the need for longitudinal, ecologically grounded, and developmentally sensitive research.”

3. 3

   A scoping review on the mental health harms of LLM-based chatbots.

   NPJ digital medicine (Diel et al.)Published Aug 20, 2026Checked Oct 8, 2026

   “N = 119 articles were included that (1) focus on LLM-based chatbots, and (2) focus on the harms of use on mental health. Literature was divided into five categories. Conceptual works mention harms based on chatbot limitations (hallucinations, sycophancy, bias), data security issues, and risks for severe or high-risk psychiatric cases (e.g., suicide, psychosis). Vignette studies show that LLM-based chatbots respond inappropriately to mental health queries compared with clinical standards. Cognitive overreliance on chatbots is associated with decreased cognitive and academic performance. Problematic use of LLM-based chatbots, marked by symptoms of emotional or social dependency and withdrawal, correlates with mental health symptoms. Articles on AI psychosis propose several potential links between delusional beliefs and LLM-based chatbot use, such as risks of chatbots reinforcing and validating delusional beliefs.This structured, integrative overview shows that theoretical and empirical work identify various hypothetical and observed harms associated with the use of LLM chatbots in mental health.”

4. 4

   Beyond "I Can't Help With That": How Child Safety Experts Evaluate AI Chatbot Safety

   arXiv (Cornell University) (Cha et al.)Published Aug 8, 2026Checked Oct 8, 2026

   “Thus, these evaluations can fail to detect responses that pose harm to youth in practice. To better understand the limitations of current evaluation practices, we conducted interviews with 19 practitioners working directly with youth in vulnerable situations, including social workers, therapists, and psychologists, asking them to reflect on chatbots' responses to risky situations commonly faced by youth, as established in prior empirical work. Practitioners identified chatbot behaviors likely to cause harm as well as those that could meaningfully support youth in difficult moments, discussed the role that chatbots should (and should not) play in these interactions, and offered concrete recommendations for improving chatbot responses. Based on these findings, we provide recommendations for AI child safety evaluation and infrastructure, and highlight the need for incorporating practitioners' perspectives into safety work.”

5. 5

   Evaluation of the Current State of Chatbots for Digital Health: Scoping Review

   Journal of Medical Internet Research (Xue et al.)Published Nov 24, 2023Checked Oct 8, 2026

   “This review provides an overview of the diversity of health-related chatbots, encompassing categories such as mental health support, physical activity promotion, and behavior change interventions. Chatbots use text, animations, speech, images, and emojis for communication. The findings highlight variations in conversational capabilities, including empathy, humor, and personalization. Notably, concerns regarding safety, particularly in addressing suicidal thoughts, were evident. Approximately 44% (16/36) of the chatbots effectively addressed suicidal thoughts. User experiences and behavioral outcomes demonstrated the potential of chatbots in health interventions, but evidence remains limited. This scoping review underscores the significance of chatbots in health-related applications and offers insights into their features, functionalities, and user experiences. This study contributes to advancing the understanding of chatbots' role in digital health interventions, thus paving the way for more effective and user-centric health promotion strategies.”