Supportive University Climate and AI Dependence Among Undergraduates: The Sequential Mediating Role of Academic Self-Efficacy and Self-Control

With the increasing incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) into educational contexts, undergraduates’ AI dependence has become increasingly apparent, constituting a significant concern in educational psychology. Using survey data from 1142 Chinese undergraduates, this study adopts a mediation-based analytical framework to investigate the association between supportive university climate and AI dependence, with academic self-efficacy and self-control as hypothesized mediators. The findings reveal a significant negative association between supportive university climate and AI dependence. Furthermore, the data support independent and sequential mediating pathways linking supportive university climate with undergraduates’ AI dependence via academic self-efficacy and self-control. The findings suggest that a more supportive university climate is associated with higher academic self-efficacy and greater self-control, which are, in turn, linked to lower levels of AI dependence.