Artificial intelligence between the lines: Navigating economic inequality and mental health

doi:10.5498/wjp.v16.i6.117120

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World Journal of Psychiatry

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2220-3206

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Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA

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Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.

World J Psychiatry. Jun 19, 2026; 16(6): 117120
Published online Jun 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v16.i6.117120

Artificial intelligence between the lines: Navigating economic inequality and mental health

Jaewon Lee, Jennifer Allen

Jaewon Lee, Department of Social Welfare, Inha University, Incheon 22212, South Korea

Jennifer Allen, School of Social Work, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, United States

Author contributions: Lee J and Allen J contributed to editorial changes in the manuscript and approved the final manuscript.

AI contribution statement: ChatGPT was used only for limited language polishing, including grammar checking and correction of awkward or broken English expressions. No part of the manuscript’s main text was AI-generated in terms of substantive content, ideas, arguments, analysis, or interpretation. AI tools were not used in the study design, data analysis, interpretation of results, or development of the research ideas. No images in the manuscript were generated by AI.

Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.

Corresponding author: Jaewon Lee, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Social Welfare, Inha University, 100 Inha-ro, Incheon 22212, South Korea. j343@inha.ac.kr

Received: December 1, 2025
Revised: December 19, 2025
Accepted: February 3, 2026
Published online: June 19, 2026
Processing time: 181 Days and 1.5 Hours

Core Tip

Core Tip: Artificial intelligence moderates the relationship between economic inequality and mental health in two ways. It can alleviate psychological burdens by improving access to care, or exacerbate distress by reinforcing digital and social exclusion. Building equitable systems and ensuring inclusive artificial intelligence use are essential for realizing its protective potential.