Relationship between Attitudes Towards AI, Self-Stigma of Seeking Help, and Professional Help Seeking Attitudes among Indian Young Adults

Abstract

Background: Digital innovations like AI chatbots are being increasingly employed for mental health support, but the interplay between these digital innovations and the traditional concept of seeking help and internalized stigma is not well understood in non-western societies. The present study investigated the interplay between attitudes towards artificial intelligence, self-stigma of seeking professional help, and professional help seeking attitudes in Indian young adults. Method: A correlational study was conducted among 121 Indian participants aged 17 -26 years who used AI for chatting, including emotional and mental health purposes. They were asked to fill the ATSPPH-SF, Self-stigma of seeking help scale (SSOSH), and AI attitude scale (AIAS-4) through a Google Form. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 30. Results: Participants had moderate attitudes towards professional help seeking (M=17.16, SD=4.86), moderate levels of self-stigma (M=23.27, SD=6.64), and generally positive attitudes towards AI (M=24.83, SD=8.28). Self-stigma was strongly and negatively correlated with professional help seeking (r= -.60, p<.001). Attitudes towards AI were not significantly correlated with attitude towards professional help seeking (r= -.07, ns) or self-stigma (r= .02). Conclusion: Internalized self-stigma is still a strongly related to help seeking intentions in Indian young adults, while positive attitudes towards AI do not seem to enhance intentions to seek human delivered therapy. Implications: Emphasis should be given to stigma reduction strategies and AI resources should be considered complementary rather than substitutes for traditional services. Limitations (small, convenience sample, correlational design, self-report data) suggest that the study should be replicated with larger and more diverse sample.