ArticleBMC psychology2026
Academic stress and university students' dependency on generative artificial intelligence: a multiple mediation model using PLS-SEM.
Article in BMC psychology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Supportive University Climate and AI Dependence Among Undergraduates: The Sequential Mediating Role of Academic Self-Efficacy and Self-Control.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- When cognitive offloading becomes dependence: how AI dependence mediates the pathway from academic stress to burnout and anxiety.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Technostress in the Era of Generative Artificial Intelligence: Mental Health Implications in Medical Education.Psychiatry investigation · 2026Article
- Moral Disengagement and Unethical Generative AI Use as the Chain Mediators Between Antagonistic Personality and Problematic Generative AI Use.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Academic self-perceptions and AI use among health professions students: the serial mediating roles of learned helplessness and academic-clinical learning loneliness.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- How academic stress leads to artificial intelligence-generated design dependency: the roles of academic procrastination and help-seeking behavior.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Family-school autonomy support for children's responsible use of generative artificial intelligence: a self-determination theory synthesis and developmental research agenda.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Review
- AI-associated academic writing anxiety in AI-assisted contexts: evidence from Chinese EFL postgraduate students.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Are students dependent on AI in writing courses? Analyzing factors influencing dependence on generative AI through the I-PACE model.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- The psychological mechanisms and behavioral determinants of academic integrity in the age of artificial intelligence.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
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4 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundAs generative artificial intelligence (GAI) becomes increasingly embedded in academic work, concerns have emerged that students experiencing higher levels of stress may be more prone to developing reliance on these systems. This study examines the relationship between academic stress and GAI dependency and explores whether performance expectations, academic anxiety, and desire thinking are involved as mediating psychological correlates.
methodsGuided by the Interaction of Person–Affect–Cognition–Execution (I-PACE) model, a survey was conducted among university students to assess academic stress, GAI dependency, and three proposed mediating factors. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to examine both direct and indirect relationships among these variables. Significance of path coefficients and effect sizes was evaluated using established criteria to determine the strength and relevance of each association.
resultsAcademic stress was positively and significantly associated with GAI dependency. Performance expectations, academic anxiety, and desire thinking all functioned as meaningful mediators in this relationship. Among them, performance expectations accounted for the largest share of the indirect effect, while desire thinking and academic anxiety also made substantial contributions. These mediators explained a considerable proportion of the overall impact of academic stress on GAI dependency.
conclusionsThe findings suggest that academic stress is associated with GAI dependency through multiple cognitive and emotional variables. By applying the I-PACE model to the context of GAI use, this study clarifies how stress-related factors link academic stress to students’ engagement with emerging technologies.
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