A Qualitative Exploration of AI-Mediated Emotional Support in Romantic Relationships Among Young Adult Women: Implications for Emotional Validation and Communication Quality

Abstract

The proposed research is aimed at exploring the impact of AI-assisted emotional support on communication and emotional validation quality in romantic relationships in women of young adulthood. A qualitative method was applied to obtain a better understanding of the impacts of AI-led emotional support. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews with ten young adult women aged between 18-25 years all of them being in romantic relationships and having used AI regarding emotional or other related problems. The method resulted in the possibility of capturing not only the experiences of the participants but also capturing their presentation of the experiences in their own language. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyze the interview transcripts. The review led to the selection of six topical themes, such as AI as a resource of instant emotional regulation; temporary regulation of emotion with mixed outcomes; AI as a resource of thinking and reflection; AI-informed communication and conflict management; tension between emotion regulation and emotion sincerity; and the maintenance of human primacy in emotions support. The result implied that although AI mediated emotional support may provide temporal relief validation or even help in controlling communication during disputes, it appears to be viewed to a large extent only as a supplementary and not as a real replacement of emotional intimacy in romantic relationships.