The chain mediating roles of career planning and future time perspective between AI literacy and employment anxiety among higher vocational college students

Against the background of artificial intelligence (AI) reshaping the labor market, employment anxiety among higher vocational college students is becoming increasingly prominent. Grounded in Career Construction Theory, this study aims to explore the relationship between AI literacy and employment anxiety among Chinese higher vocational college students, with a specific focus on the chain mediating roles of career planning and future time perspective. A total of 1,234 students from five industry-featured higher vocational colleges in Jiangxi Province, China, were surveyed using self-report scales measuring AI literacy, employment anxiety, career planning, and future time perspective. The relationships among these variables were tested using the PROCESS macro (Model 6) for SPSS. The results indicated that (1) all variables were significantly correlated with one another; (2) AI literacy exhibited a significant positive total association with employment anxiety, which decomposed into a substantial positive direct association and a negative total indirect association; (3) AI literacy exerted a significant negative indirect association on employment anxiety through three pathways, namely, the independent mediating roles of career planning and future time perspective, and their chain mediating role, while the total association remained positive. These findings suggest that while higher AI literacy may heighten students’ awareness of labor-market disruptions, its negative indirect associations with employment anxiety operate through enhanced career planning and future orientation. It is recommended that higher vocational colleges consider integrating AI literacy education into career guidance programs, strengthening students’ career planning competencies, and cultivating a long-term future orientation, so as to potentially strengthen the anxiety-buffering pathway associated with AI literacy.