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Published on: November 9, 2019
Cognitive-Behavioral and Psychodynamic Lenses on Adolescent Gaming Disorder Through AI-Generated Case Formulations: A
1Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Disease, Kırşehir Ahi Evran University Faculty of Medicine, Bağbaşı Mahallesi, Şehir Necdet Yağız Caddesi,, Kırşehir, Turkiye, Turkey. sarper.icen@ahievran.edu.tr.
Abstract:
Case formulation (CF) is central to personalized mental health care, yet little is known about how artificial intelligence (AI) may simulate theory-informed processes. This exploratory study examined how ChatGPT-4.0 generated CFs for adolescent gaming disorder using cognitive-behavioral and psychodynamic frameworks. Eight standardized fictional vignettes describing demographics, gaming behaviors, psychiatric symptoms, and family context were submitted with prompts requesting framework-specific formulations. Outputs underwent thematic analysis with structured parallel frameworks and reflexive coding. Cognitive-behavioral formulations emphasized schemas, distortions, avoidance, gaming's psychological functions, and motivational themes, yielding three exploratory subtypes: Avoidant-Anxious, Defiant-Externalizing, and Depression-Driven. Psychodynamic formulations highlighted intrapsychic conflict, defense mechanisms, relational templates, and symbolic meanings, producing four subtypes: Shame-Regulating, Grief-Avoidant, Inhibited/Anxious-Avoidant, and Control-Oriented. Across frameworks, convergences emerged around low self-worth, avoidance, family dysfunction, and gaming as emotional regulation. These findings suggest that large language models can approximate framework-based case formulations and highlight clinically relevant themes, though they are not generalizable beyond simulated cases. With ethical oversight, such tools may support integrative clinical thinking, education, and reflective supervision. Future work should compare AI- and clinician-generated formulations with real patient data to evaluate validity and utility. Clinical trial number: Not applicable.
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