Proposed Applications of Social Robots in Interventions for Children and Adolescents with Social Anxiety

ABSTRACT Social robots have been used in mental health care interventions not only to increase access to mental health treatments, but also to complement the support provided by practitioners. We propose incorporating social robots in conventional treatments for children and adolescents with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). Although non-robotic, evidence-based interventions for social anxiety are already available, factors such as embarrassment, and anticipatory anxiety have led to treatment delay and avoidance among this clinical population. To encourage treatment and to further improve treatment outcomes, in this work-in-progress article we propose the incorporation of social robots in conventional treatments for SAD. Social robots offer many advantages, such as adaptability, being non-judgmental, and providing interaction capabilities, which could make them a useful tool in the hands of practitioners working with children and adolescents with SAD. We discuss the different roles that social robots could play in helping children with social anxiety make the most of conventional treatments. We also present preliminary results (68 participants) on adolescents’ preferences for using intelligent agents in promoting mental well-being. We conclude by summarizing the potential benefits and limitations of using social robots in conventional treatments for social anxiety.