Determinants of rural middle school students' adoption of AI chatbots for mental health.

Adolescent mental health challenges constitute an important global public health issue. Despite the rapid development of AI technology in various fields, its adoption in rural mental health remains constrained. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that influence the adoption of AI chatbots for mental health education among rural Chinese secondary school students. Utilizing the UTAUT2 framework, we included Perceived Risk (PR) and Perceived Anthropomorphism (PA) to construct a theoretical model. A questionnaire survey of 317 rural adolescents was conducted, analyzed via SPSS and AMOS. Results showed PE, EE, SI, and PA positively correlated with BI; PR negatively correlated; HM had no effect. Grade level moderated specific paths. The study extends UTAUT2 to marginalized populations, filling a gap in AI-driven rural adolescent mental health interventions.