The College of Nursing at the University of Baghdad held a defense of the master’s thesis in mental health nursing by researcher Ilham Ahmed Najm, titled “The Relationship Between the Use of Intelligent Chat Programs, Psychological Well-Being, and Coping Strategies Among Sixth-Grade Middle School Students,” under the supervision of Assistant Professor Dr. Karim Rashk Sajit.
The study primarily aimed to assess the extent to which sixth-grade preparatory students interact with AI-powered interactive chat applications and chatbots in their academic and daily activities, and to examine the nature of the relationship between this use and their levels of psychological well-being and coping strategies, as well as to identify statistical differences in usage patterns based on demographic variables such as gender, school type, academic track, and family economic status.
The study’s results and conclusions revealed active and notable interaction by middle school students with AI chatbots, with a statistically significant association found between this use and the coping strategies employed to deal with stress, while the results demonstrated no direct statistical correlation between the use of these programs and students’ overall psychological well-being.
Based on the research findings, the study recommended that the Ministry of Education integrate awareness programs on the safe and supportive use of artificial intelligence technologies into educational and psychological counseling plans, and to organize school-based workshops and educational sessions to train students to effectively use chatbots for learning and completing academic tasks, as well as to encourage teaching staff to promote psychological well-being and provide students with practical mechanisms for managing academic stress. Following an extensive academic discussion, the researcher’s efforts culminated in the approval of her thesis and the fulfillment of the requirements for a master’s degree.
The findings of this study align with the Sustainable Development Goals that the College of Nursing at the University of Baghdad seeks to promote, particularly Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being), and Goal 4 (Quality Education), by exploring the impact of digital transformation and artificial intelligence on students’ mental health and developing methods for school-based psychological support and counseling.
