AccScience Publishing / HPR / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/hpr.0415
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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Beyond academic use: Emotional reliance, social withdrawal, and anxiety in university students’ narratives of ChatGPT

Anas Ali Alhur1* ,  Badr Alnasser2
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1 Department of Health Informatics, College of Public Health and Health Informatics, University of Ha’il, Ha’il, Saudi Arabia
2 Department of Health Management, College of Public Health and Health Informatics, University of Ha’il, Ha’il, Saudi Arabia
HPR, 0415 https://doi.org/10.36922/hpr.0415
Received: 30 November 2025 | Revised: 12 March 2026 | Accepted: 20 March 2026 | Published online: 9 July 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution -Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC-by the license) ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ )
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Abstract

Background: Conversational artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT are increasingly integrated into university students’ academic routines. In addition to supporting coursework, some students report using these systems for emotional reassurance and stress management. Although emerging research has examined associations between AI use and psychological outcomes, qualitative evidence exploring how students narrate these experiences in everyday contexts remains limited.

Objective: To examine how university students describe emotional, social, and academic experiences related to ChatGPT use, with particular attention to perceived emotional reliance, anxiety-related experiences, and changes in peer engagement.

Methods: A qualitative descriptive design using inductive codebook thematic analysis was applied to publicly accessible Reddit posts from student- and mental health-related communities (e.g., r/college, r/GradSchool, r/Anxiety) published between January 2023 and October 2025. Eighty-three posts meeting predefined inclusion criteria were analyzed. Two researchers independently coded a subset of posts and achieved substantial intercoder agreement (Cohen’s κ = 0.81; 88% agreement). All excerpts presented in the manuscript were paraphrased to reduce traceability and protect anonymity.

Results: Six synthesized themes were identified: (i) emotional reliance and reassurance-seeking, (ii) social withdrawal and reduced peer engagement, (iii) anxiety amplification and cognitive overload, (iv) academic integrity-related pressure and performance anxiety, (v) reduced intrinsic motivation and creative disengagement, and (vi) trust, privacy, and emotional vulnerability concerns. Cross-cutting patterns described by students included reassurance-seeking cycles, co-occurring anxiety and withdrawal, perceived short-term emotional relief accompanied by longer-term costs, and substitution of peer interaction with AI-mediated support.

Conclusion: Student narratives suggest that ChatGPT may function both as an academic aid and as an external coping resource, with experiences shaped by individual and contextual factors. When AI-mediated reassurance appears to substitute for interpersonal support, students describe heightened anxiety and reduced social engagement. These findings highlight the importance of digital well-being initiatives, clearer institutional guidance, and AI literacy programs that promote reflective and balanced use of conversational AI in higher education.

Keywords
ChatGPT
Conversational artificial intelligence
University students
Emotional reliance
Anxiety
Social withdrawal
Qualitative codebook thematic analysis
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
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