This study focuses on the question, “How is perceived stress associated with emerging adults' intention to use an anonymous AI-guided peer support platform for mental health, and to what extent is this relationship mediated by online social support?”. We employed a cross-sectional, quantitative survey design to examine the association between perceived stress and emerging adults' intention to use an anonymous AI-guided peer support platform for mental health, and to test whether this association is mediated by online social support. 

The results provide little support for the proposed model. Perceived stress is not significantly associated with the intention to use the platform or online social support. However, online social support was positively associated with the intention to use the platform at the bivariate level. Nevertheless, this association must be interpreted with caution within the mediation model. Therefore, the posited indirect effect of perceived stress on intention via online social support was not confirmed. 

The findings suggest that emerging adults’ intention to use an anonymous AI-guided peer support platform for mental health may be less shaped by perceived stress itself and more by whether emerging adults already experience online environments as supportive.