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A Personalized Conversational Agent to Treat Depression in Youth and Young Adults – A Transdisciplinary Design Science Research Project

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Book cover The Transdisciplinary Reach of Design Science Research (DESRIST 2022)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 13229))

Abstract

Depression is a large-scale and consequential problem in youth and young adults. Conversational agents (CAs) can contribute to addressing current barriers to seeking treatment, such as long waiting lists, and reduce the high dropout rates reported for other digital health interventions. However, existing CAs have not considered differences between youth and adults and are primarily designed based on a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach that neglects individual symptoms and preferences. Therefore, we propose a theory-driven design for personalized CAs to treat depression in youth and young adults. Based on interviews with patients (i.e., people diagnosed with depression), we derive two design principles to personalize the character of the CA and its therapeutic content. These principles are instantiated in prototypes and evaluated in interviews with experts experienced in delivering psychotherapy and potential nondiagnosed users. Personalization was perceived as crucial for treatment success, and autonomy and transparency emerged as important themes for personalization. We contribute by providing design principles for personalized CAs for mental health that extend previous CA research in the context of mental health.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

    Florian Onur Kuhlmeier, Stefan Lüttke & Eva-Lotta Brakemeier

  2. Institute of Information Systems and Marketing, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Florian Onur Kuhlmeier, Ulrich Gnewuch & Alexander Mädche

Authors
  1. Florian Onur Kuhlmeier
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  2. Ulrich Gnewuch
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  3. Stefan Lüttke
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  4. Eva-Lotta Brakemeier
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  5. Alexander Mädche
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Florian Onur Kuhlmeier .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

    Andreas Drechsler

  2. University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

    Aurona Gerber

  3. University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    Alan Hevner

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Kuhlmeier, F.O., Gnewuch, U., Lüttke, S., Brakemeier, EL., Mädche, A. (2022). A Personalized Conversational Agent to Treat Depression in Youth and Young Adults – A Transdisciplinary Design Science Research Project. In: Drechsler, A., Gerber, A., Hevner, A. (eds) The Transdisciplinary Reach of Design Science Research. DESRIST 2022. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 13229. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06516-3_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06516-3_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-06515-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-06516-3

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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