ArticlePsychology research and behavior management2024
AI Technology panic-is AI Dependence Bad for Mental Health? A Cross-Lagged Panel Model and the Mediating Roles of Motivations for AI Use Among Adolescents.
Article in Psychology research and behavior management, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Addicted, attached, or just delegating? A scoping review on "problematic artificial intelligence use".Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- AI Dependence and Self-Reported Creativity Among Chinese College Students: The Roles of Motivation for AI Use and Perceived AI Literacy.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- A scoping review on the mental health harms of LLM-based chatbots.NPJ digital medicine · 2026Article
- Artificial Intelligence Connectedness: Theoretical Reconstruction of Connectedness and Its Impacts on Adolescent Mental Health.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Article
- Supporting Student Mental Health With the Safespace Generative AI Chatbot: Mixed Methods Feasibility Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Artificial Intelligence Discontinuation Effects (AI-DICE): An Emerging Phenomenon in Mental Health Applications.JMIR AI · 2026Article
- Using Machine-Learning and Network Analysis to Investigate the Risk Factors of AI Dependence: The Crucial Role of Escape and Social Motivation.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Digital Media Use and Psychosocial Health among Adolescent Boys and Young Men.Current psychiatry reports · 2026Review
- Anxiety and Depression Associated With the Dependent Use of Generative AI in Medical Students: Cross-Sectional Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Task complexity and AI dependency among college students: the mediating roles of cognitive load, future anxiety, and task motivation.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- [Artificial intelligence and disinformation in health: The need for re-education from primary care].Atencion primaria · 2026Review
- When Stress Meets Support: How AI Learning Support Shapes the Link Between Stress Mindset and School Burnout.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Behavioral Dynamics of AI Trust and Health Care Delays Among Adults: Integrated Cross-Sectional Survey and Agent-Based Modeling Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Psychological and technological predictors of AI literacy profiles: a latent profile analysis among Chinese college students.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Academic stress and university students' dependency on generative artificial intelligence: a multiple mediation model using PLS-SEM.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- AI companions and adolescent social relationships: Benefits, risks, and bidirectional influences.Child development perspectives · 2026Article
- The Influence of Prior Perception, Attitude, and Immediate Knowledge of AI on Adolescents' Preferences for High- and Low-Replaceable Jobs.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Is generative artificial intelligence becoming addictive? An exploration among undergraduate students.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Measuring human metacognition in GPT-assisted cognition: development and psychometric validation of a novel scale.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
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8 authors.
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Abstract
Background: The emergence of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), may manifest as technology panic in some people, including adolescents who may be particularly vulnerable to new technologies (the use of AI can lead to AI dependence, which can threaten mental health). While the relationship between AI dependence and mental health is a growing topic, the few existing studies are mainly cross-sectional and use qualitative approaches, failing to find a longitudinal relationship between them. Based on the framework of technology dependence, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of experiencing AI dependence, to examine the cross-lagged effects between mental health problems (anxiety/depression) and AI dependence and to explore the mediating role of AI use motivations. Methods: A two-wave cohort program with 3843 adolescents (Male = 1848, Results: 17.14% of the adolescents experienced AI dependence at T1, and 24.19% experienced dependence at T2. Only mental health problems positively predicted subsequent AI dependence, not vice versa. For AI use motivation, escape motivation and social motivation mediated the relationship between mental health problems and AI dependence whereas entertainment motivation and instrumental motivation did not. Discussion: Excessive panic about AI dependence is currently unnecessary, and AI has promising applications in alleviating emotional problems in adolescents. Innovation in AI is rapid, and more research is needed to confirm and evaluate the impact of AI use on adolescents' mental health and the implications and future directions are discussed.
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