Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality to Advance Adolescent Mental Health

Adolescent mental health needs are rising globally, with anxiety, depression, ADHD, and related conditions contributing substantially to morbidity and impaired functioning. Concurrently, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Augmented Reality (AR) are enabling new modalities for screening, personalized intervention, psychoeducation, and skills practice within school, community, and clinical settings. Despite promising early evidence, important gaps remain regarding clinical effectiveness, engagement and accessibility among diverse youth, ethical and privacy safeguards for minors, and pathways to scale within real-world services.This Research Topic aims to build an evidence base for AI- and AR-enabled approaches that improve access, engagement, and outcomes for adolescents. We seek multidisciplinary contributions that rigorously evaluate digital interventions, define standards for usability and outcome measurement, and clarify implementation, equity, and policy considerations necessary for safe and scalable integration into youth mental health ecosystems.To gather further insights into technology-enabled approaches for adolescent mental health—spanning evaluation, engagement, outcomes, implementation, and safeguards for minors—we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Design and evaluation of AI-, AR-, or XR-based prevention, early intervention, or treatment for adolescents, including RCTs, quasi-experiments, pragmatic trials, and real-world implementations;• User engagement, acceptability, accessibility, and usability metrics tailored to adolescents, including school- and community-based delivery;• Clinical outcomes and outcome measurement (symptoms, functioning, school attendance/participation), and implementation outcomes (feasibility, fidelity, cost, equity, scalability);• Ethical, privacy, safety, and governance considerations for minors, including transparency, bias mitigation, consent/assent, and data protection-by-design;• Interdisciplinary models linking clinicians, technologists, educators, families, and policymakers to enable adoption in care pathways;• Subgroup and contextual analyses (e.g., ADHD/ASD, underserved and minoritized youth, rural/low-resource settings), moderators/mediators, and longitudinal follow-up;• Methodological and reporting guidance for adolescent digital mental health, including engagement, harms monitoring, and adverse event reporting standards.We welcome the following Article Types: Original Research; Review; Systematic Review; Mini Review; Brief Research Report; Hypothesis & Theory; Perspective; Policy & Practice Reviews; Case Report. Topic editors: Zeeshan Mansuri, Sasidhar Gunturu, Muhammad Zeshan Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/73920/innovative-applications-of-artificial-intelligence-and-augmented-reality-to-advance-adolescent-mental-health