JED’s new, original research, Exploring Artificial Intelligence [AI]: Understanding Relationships between AI Use and Mental Health Among Middle and High School Students, examines how young people are using AI. While there is a growing body of research on how youth interact with AI, there are limited studies looking into young people’s AI use and how it’s associated with their overall mental health, risk for suicide, and well-being. This report contributes new understanding of these relationships.

This report also includes recommendations for systems leaders including the AI and technology industry, policymakers, and youth-serving professionals, who have unique powers and responsibilities to create environments where young people can both have more safety and more agency.

Download the report

The analysis draws on JED’s Student Survey, collected October 2025 to April 2026 from 5,560 middle and high school students in 21 U.S. schools. Data were weighted for non-response and analyzed with generalized mixed additive models adjusted for gender, race/ethnicity, and grade.

1. Students use AI for a wide range of cognitive and emotional supports, including turning to AI when they’re emotionally struggling.
2. Certain uses of AI are associated with worse mental health and well-being outcomes, and greater lifetime history of suicidal thoughts and attempts.
3. Students who use AI while emotionally struggling have worse mental health and well-being outcomes, and greater history of suicidal thoughts and attempts.
4. Patterns of AI use differ across demographics, with important implications for mental health disparities.

For more information about the key findings and recommendations, download the report.

Based on this research JED developed a new resource for parents and caregivers to help them approach conversations and boundary setting with the young people in their lives regarding their use of AI chatbots and companions.

Download parent and caregiver tip sheet

We would like to thank the staff members at The Jed Foundation (JED) who contributed to this research and report. We would also like to thank participating schools and districts, along with the students who took part in JED’s research during the 2025-2026 school year. Everyone’s time and energy helps us ensure that data drive our approach to promotion of mental health and prevention of suicide. We are grateful for the generous funding support from the Nielsen Foundation that made this work possible and our partners at the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital who provided input on this report.

It’s important to note that this report has cross-sectional data and does not include a nationally representative sample. Therefore, it is unclear whether AI use contributes to poorer well-being or whether students already in distress are more likely to turn to AI. However, these findings mirror results from other nationally representative reports that have considered AI use and its implications. JED will continue collecting data from students annually, pursuing peer-reviewed work with collaborators, and working together with industry, researchers, and policymakers on safeguards and independent evaluation. JED is committed to leading this work.

To read the press release for this new report, visit JED’s News & Views. For media inquiries or interview opportunities about the report, please contact Justin Barbo, JED’s director of public relations, at [email protected] or [email protected].