Background: As a crucial transitional period from campus to society, providing comprehensive undergraduate health psychological care is essential for addressing Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). Current global healthcare research is actively exploring innovative digital interventions, with a specific focus on leveraging Augmented Reality (AR) as a transformative auxiliary tool in clinical settings. Methods: This study investigates the factors influencing the acceptance of AR-assisted Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) within student healthcare frameworks by developing a research model based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The framework incorporates key clinical and behavioral constructs: self-efficacy (SE), facilitating conditions (FC), and social influence (SI). Results: SE, FC, and SI significantly and positively impact the willingness to adopt AR technology for mental health purposes. Based on these findings, practical recommendations are provided for healthcare technology developers, therapists, and university psychological care providers to enhance the integration of AR-assisted CBT. Conclusions: Strengthening these digital pathways is vital for improving healthcare outcomes and enabling students to navigate future social and professional environments effectively. Because the sample consisted solely of Chinese undergraduate students, the findings should be interpreted within this specific cultural and educational context and require further validation in cross-cultural and multi-regional samples.
Zhou et al. (Fri,) studied this question.