Robot coach could help students beat anxiety by making therapy homework easier
NCT ID NCT07430800
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether a friendly robot, personalized to each user, can help college students with anxiety complete their cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) exercises at home. About 140 students with mild to moderate anxiety will use the robot for 6 weeks. The goal is to see if the robot boosts adherence to therapy and reduces anxiety symptoms.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- socially assistive robot with personalized feedback
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a practical tool to help college students complete anxiety therapy exercises at home, potentially improving symptom relief.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage study with only 140 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The robot's effect on anxiety is uncertain, and technical issues or lack of engagement could limit success.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 140 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Mar 2026
- Expected to finish
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Aug 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Are 18 years of age or older * Are university students * Are able to communicate in English * Have corrected-to-normal vision and hearing * Consent to have audio/video/interaction data recorded as part of the study * Have a GAD-7 (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 item) score of 5 or greater, indicating mild to elevated levels of self-reported symptoms of anxiety * Have a lower than minimal level of suicidality risk as measured by the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) during screening ("NO" responses to items 3, 4, 5, and 6 on C-SSRS) * Having access to home WiFi Exclusion Criteria: * Are less than 18 years of age * Are not university students * Are not able to communicate in English * Do not have corrected-to-normal vision and hearing * Do not consent to have audio/video/interaction data recorded as part of the study * Have a GAD-7 (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 item) score of 4 or lower. * Higher than a minimal level of suicidality risk as measured by the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) during screening ("YES" responses to items 3, 4, 5, or 6 on C-SSRS) * Don't have access to home WiFi
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of Southern California
RECRUITINGLos Angeles, California, 90089, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Can brain and blood data predict Anxiety's future?
- Can a daily microdose of psilocybin calm chronic anxiety?
- Can online therapy or parent coaching ease childhood anxiety? a head-to-head trial aims to find out.