Mediating effects of artificial intelligence on the relationship between academic engagement and mental health among Chinese college students

IntroductionAcademic engagement of Chinese college students has received increasing research attention due to its impact on Students’ Mental health and wellbeing. The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies marked the beginning of a new era in education, offering innovative tools and...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yalin Wang, Hui Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2024-11-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1477470/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850199104506822656
author Yalin Wang
Hui Wang
author_facet Yalin Wang
Hui Wang
author_sort Yalin Wang
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionAcademic engagement of Chinese college students has received increasing research attention due to its impact on Students’ Mental health and wellbeing. The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies marked the beginning of a new era in education, offering innovative tools and approaches to enhance learning. Still, it can be viewed from positive and negative perspectives. This study utilizes the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a theoretical framework to analyze the mediating role of students’ attitudes toward AI, perceived social norms, perceived behavioral control, and their intention to use AI technologies in the relationships between Students’ academic engagement and Mental health.MethodsThe study involved a total of 2,423 Chinese college students with a mean age of approximately 20.53 ± 1.51 years. The survey was conducted through Questionnaire Star, using a secure website designed specifically for the study. The Hayes’ PROCESS Macro (Version 4.2) Model 80 with SPSS 29.0, a multivariate regression analysis with a chain mediation model that allows for multiple mediators to be tested sequentially, has been used. The statistical test explored the direct and indirect effects of students’ engagement (X) on mental health (Y) through a series of mediators: attitude toward AI (M1), subjective norm (M2), perceived behavioral control over AI use (M3), and AI use behavioral intention (M4).ResultsThe direct positive relationship between engagement and mental health (β = 0.0575; p < 0.05), as well as identifying key mediating factors such as perceived behavioral control (β = 0.1039; p < 0.05) and AI use of behavioral intention (β = 0.0672; p < 0.05), highlights the potential of AI tools in enhancing students’ well-being. However, the non-significant mediating effects of attitude toward AI (β = 0.0135), and subjective norms (β = –0.0005), suggest that more research is needed to understand the nuances of these relationships fully.DiscussionOverall, the study contributes to the growing body of literature on the role of AI in education and offers practical implications for improving mental health support in academic settings.
format Article
id doaj-art-9d91ea1810334d0ba4727358e29949f8
institution OA Journals
issn 1664-1078
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Psychology
spelling doaj-art-9d91ea1810334d0ba4727358e29949f82025-08-20T02:12:42ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782024-11-011510.3389/fpsyg.2024.14774701477470Mediating effects of artificial intelligence on the relationship between academic engagement and mental health among Chinese college studentsYalin Wang0Hui Wang1Department of Marxism, Zhoukou Vocational and Technical College, Zhoukou, ChinaDepartment of Plant Protection, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, ChinaIntroductionAcademic engagement of Chinese college students has received increasing research attention due to its impact on Students’ Mental health and wellbeing. The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies marked the beginning of a new era in education, offering innovative tools and approaches to enhance learning. Still, it can be viewed from positive and negative perspectives. This study utilizes the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a theoretical framework to analyze the mediating role of students’ attitudes toward AI, perceived social norms, perceived behavioral control, and their intention to use AI technologies in the relationships between Students’ academic engagement and Mental health.MethodsThe study involved a total of 2,423 Chinese college students with a mean age of approximately 20.53 ± 1.51 years. The survey was conducted through Questionnaire Star, using a secure website designed specifically for the study. The Hayes’ PROCESS Macro (Version 4.2) Model 80 with SPSS 29.0, a multivariate regression analysis with a chain mediation model that allows for multiple mediators to be tested sequentially, has been used. The statistical test explored the direct and indirect effects of students’ engagement (X) on mental health (Y) through a series of mediators: attitude toward AI (M1), subjective norm (M2), perceived behavioral control over AI use (M3), and AI use behavioral intention (M4).ResultsThe direct positive relationship between engagement and mental health (β = 0.0575; p < 0.05), as well as identifying key mediating factors such as perceived behavioral control (β = 0.1039; p < 0.05) and AI use of behavioral intention (β = 0.0672; p < 0.05), highlights the potential of AI tools in enhancing students’ well-being. However, the non-significant mediating effects of attitude toward AI (β = 0.0135), and subjective norms (β = –0.0005), suggest that more research is needed to understand the nuances of these relationships fully.DiscussionOverall, the study contributes to the growing body of literature on the role of AI in education and offers practical implications for improving mental health support in academic settings.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1477470/fullartificial intelligencemental healththeory of planned behaviorattitudessubjective normbehavioral intentions
spellingShingle Yalin Wang
Hui Wang
Mediating effects of artificial intelligence on the relationship between academic engagement and mental health among Chinese college students
Frontiers in Psychology
artificial intelligence
mental health
theory of planned behavior
attitudes
subjective norm
behavioral intentions
title Mediating effects of artificial intelligence on the relationship between academic engagement and mental health among Chinese college students
title_full Mediating effects of artificial intelligence on the relationship between academic engagement and mental health among Chinese college students
title_fullStr Mediating effects of artificial intelligence on the relationship between academic engagement and mental health among Chinese college students
title_full_unstemmed Mediating effects of artificial intelligence on the relationship between academic engagement and mental health among Chinese college students
title_short Mediating effects of artificial intelligence on the relationship between academic engagement and mental health among Chinese college students
title_sort mediating effects of artificial intelligence on the relationship between academic engagement and mental health among chinese college students
topic artificial intelligence
mental health
theory of planned behavior
attitudes
subjective norm
behavioral intentions
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1477470/full
work_keys_str_mv AT yalinwang mediatingeffectsofartificialintelligenceontherelationshipbetweenacademicengagementandmentalhealthamongchinesecollegestudents
AT huiwang mediatingeffectsofartificialintelligenceontherelationshipbetweenacademicengagementandmentalhealthamongchinesecollegestudents