Filipino Students' Willingness to Use AI for Mental Health Support: A Path Analysis of Behavioral, Emotional, and Contextual Factors
It addresses mental health care accessibility for Filipino students, but is incremental as it applies existing path analysis to a new demographic and context.
This study investigated how behavioral, emotional, and contextual factors affect Filipino students' willingness to use AI for mental health support, finding that habit had the strongest influence, followed by comfort, emotional benefit, facilitating conditions, and perceived usefulness.
This study examined how behavioral, emotional, and contextual factors influence Filipino students' willingness to use artificial intelligence (AI) for mental health support. Results showed that habit had the strongest effect on willingness, followed by comfort, emotional benefit, facilitating conditions, and perceived usefulness. Students who used AI tools regularly felt more confident and open to relying on them for emotional support. Empathy, privacy, and accessibility also increased comfort and trust in AI systems. The findings highlight that emotional safety and routine use are essential in promoting willingness. The study recommends AI literacy programs, empathic design, and ethical policies that support responsible and culturally sensitive use of AI for student mental health care.