The Influence of Attachment Style Variations on Problematic Use of AI Chatbots: A Mediation Study of Social Anxiety and Human-Robot Empathy

The Influence of Attachment Style Variations on Problematic Use of AI Chatbots: A Mediation Study of Social Anxiety and Human-Robot Empathy | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The Influence of Attachment Style Variations on Problematic Use of AI Chatbots: A Mediation Study of Social Anxiety and Human-Robot Empathy Yuhao Li, Yixuan Liu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7437820/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The rapid adoption of AI chatbots has brought about the rise of emotionally intimate human–machine relationships.This study investigates how attachment style, as an individual difference factor, influences problematic use of AI chatbots through the mediation effects of social anxiety and human–robot empathy. Drawing on data from 534 valid questionnaires, this study found that anxious attachment significantly heightened both social anxiety and human–robot empathy, thereby indirectly contributing to problematic use of AI chatbots Avoidant attachment, by contrast, affects problematic use primarily via social anxiety, with no significant association with human–robot empathy. In addition, social anxiety and human-robot empathy served as chain mediators in both attachment paths. The results show that in the process of using chat behavior in a problem-solving manner, social anxiety acts as a precursor mechanism for emotional triggering, prompting individuals to avoid real-world social interactions and direct their emotional needs toward AI chatbots; human-robot empathy serves as a safeguard mechanism for emotional response and psychological compensation, maintaining individuals' emotional engagement during interactions. These two factors work synergistically to foster increased engagement and ultimately contribute to the development of problematic use patterns. This study revealed the underlying emotional pathways and psychological mechanisms behind human-AI interactions, offering a new perspective for understanding emotional behaviors in the digital era. attachment style social anxiety༛human-robot empathy༛problematic use༛ AI chatbots Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7437820","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":508305643,"identity":"d37c31d0-f7ef-463f-b59e-8e28c402a5b3","order_by":0,"name":"Yuhao Li","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Xi'an International Studies University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yuhao","middleName":"","lastName":"Li","suffix":""},{"id":508305644,"identity":"9a448a17-5614-4ff4-8594-604a53941c5c","order_by":1,"name":"Yixuan Liu","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA3ElEQVRIie3PvQrCMBDA8YNCuhztmlI/XiESKIJgn0W6BumoCDoU6qK7m2/R2SLUpe6Ci9rZQRxdTNtVGt0c8ocMgfy4C4BO95ehPCEFYq7qq6UUpCSMgoU5wE4S8iUB6FBREVASu7tOnyHrj2LnnhYPMWwRMK63UwNxYitwN4yOYnccsDQJ5GKEc9FAWIbMxYoIj6aJIQkSt4n4GfJXRZy8JAs1YQS9egrFkuzVhGbCG0jCYxScHZMDEkPxFzvK+Rkn8/Z2mfcu02Tm22Z0LZrIh4zfnut0Op3uQ2/7TTsbNv9hGAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Chongqing Jiaotong University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yixuan","middleName":"","lastName":"Liu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-08-23 01:08:07","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7437820/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7437820/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107890644,"identity":"96b88447-c5e0-444a-b918-2bc20a356a6f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-27 09:56:30","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":502085,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Revisedversionmanuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7437820/v1_covered_83988201-5915-496a-b4b6-cc33a7eafc75.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"The Influence of Attachment Style Variations on Problematic Use of AI Chatbots: A Mediation Study of Social Anxiety and Human-Robot Empathy","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"attachment style, social anxiety༛human-robot empathy༛problematic use༛ AI chatbots","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7437820/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7437820/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe rapid adoption of AI chatbots has brought about the rise of emotionally intimate human\u0026ndash;machine relationships.This study investigates how attachment style, as an individual difference factor, influences problematic use of AI chatbots through the mediation effects of social anxiety and human\u0026ndash;robot empathy. Drawing on data from 534 valid questionnaires, this study found that anxious attachment significantly heightened both social anxiety and human\u0026ndash;robot empathy, thereby indirectly contributing to problematic use of AI chatbots Avoidant attachment, by contrast, affects problematic use primarily via social anxiety, with no significant association with human\u0026ndash;robot empathy. In addition, social anxiety and human-robot empathy served as chain mediators in both attachment paths. The results show that in the process of using chat behavior in a problem-solving manner, social anxiety acts as a precursor mechanism for emotional triggering, prompting individuals to avoid real-world social interactions and direct their emotional needs toward AI chatbots; human-robot empathy serves as a safeguard mechanism for emotional response and psychological compensation, maintaining individuals' emotional engagement during interactions. 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This study revealed the underlying emotional pathways and psychological mechanisms behind human-AI interactions, offering a new perspective for understanding emotional behaviors in the digital era.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"The Influence of Attachment Style Variations on Problematic Use of AI Chatbots: A Mediation Study of Social Anxiety and Human-Robot Empathy","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-09-05 14:57:21","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7437820/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"a0442fd6-523c-4a62-8272-1148a535073d","owner":[],"postedDate":"September 5th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-27T09:55:40+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-09-05 14:57:21","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7437820","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7437820","identity":"rs-7437820","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}