Date
Publisher
arXiv
Resilience is a key factor affecting children's mental wellbeing and future development. Yet, limited HCI research has explored how to help children build resilience through adversarial experiences. Informed by a formative study with elementary school teachers and professional psychologists, we design TaleBot, an AI-empowered system that supports children to co-create stories about overcoming everyday adversities tailored to their personal situations. We evaluated the system with 12 elementary children in school counseling rooms under teacher guidance and conducted reflective interviews with parents upon the Child-AI co-created stories. The findings show that TaleBot encourages children in self-expression of feelings and thoughts, creating opportunities for teachers to provide personalized support and for parents to better understand the profound impact of family communication on children's mental wellbeing. We conclude with design implications for using generative AI to support children's mental health education and interventions across school and family contexts.
Study at a glance
- Question: Can an AI companion support children in co-creating stories to cultivate resilience through everyday adversities?
- Setting and data: 12 elementary school children in school counseling rooms, teachers, and parents; location and time not stated.
- Method: Formative study, system evaluation with children guided by teachers, and reflective interviews with parents.
Why it matters
Resilience shapes children's mental wellbeing and future development. However, human-computer interaction research rarely investigates how to help children cultivate resilience through adversarial experiences.
Key findings
- TaleBot encourages children to express their feelings and thoughts through personalized stories about overcoming everyday adversities.
- The co-creative storytelling creates opportunities for teachers to offer personalized support to children.
- Reviewing the co-created stories helps parents better understand how family communication deeply influences children's mental wellbeing.
Summary drafted with AI from the paper’s abstract and may contain errors. See the full paper for details.
What is the application?
Who is the user?
Who age?
Study design
