Generative AI · Education leadership

Actionable companion · Assessment and evidence of learning

From evidence to district action: The relationship between academic self-efficacy and GenAI dependence among college students: a chain mediation model of academic stress and perceived usefulness of GenAI

AI-assisted editorial implementation guide. The district actions are proposed applications, not findings or recommendations attributed to the original authors. No additional peer review is asserted.

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Evidence and context

Confirm the study population, setting and task before applying its findings to your district.

Original authors’ abstract, reproduced under the linked source license:

Abstract Background As generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) becomes increasingly integrated into higher education, concerns have emerged regarding students' growing reliance on GenAI for academic tasks. Although prior studies have examined the educational benefits of GenAI, limited research has explored the psychological mechanisms underlying students' dependence on these technologies. This study investigated whether academic self-efficacy predicts GenAI dependence and examined the mediating roles of academic stress and perceived usefulness of GenAI. Methods Using a time-lagged survey design, data were collected from 428 college students from five universities in eastern China. Participants completed validated measures of academic self-efficacy, academic stress, perceived usefulness of GenAI, and GenAI dependence. Structural equation modeling and bootstrap analyses were conducted to examine the hypothesized mediation pathways. Results Academic self-efficacy was significantly and negatively associated with GenAI dependence. Academic stress and perceived usefulness of GenAI each served as significant mediators between academic self-efficacy and GenAI dependence. Furthermore, academic stress was positively associated with perceived usefulness of GenAI, and the sequential pathway from academic self-efficacy to academic stress, perceived usefulness of GenAI, and GenAI dependence was significant. Specifically, students with lower academic self-efficacy experienced greater academic stress, which increased their perceptions of the usefulness of GenAI and subsequently strengthened their dependence on GenAI. Conclusion Academic self-efficacy affects college students' GenAI dependence both directly and indirectly through academic stress and perceived usefulness of GenAI. The findings extend the application of the I-PACE framework to the context of generative artificial intelligence and provide practical insights for universities seeking to promote responsible GenAI use, enhance students' independent learning capabilities, and mitigate excessive reliance on AI-assisted learning tools. Keywords: academic self-efficacy, academic stress, GenAI dependence, generative artificial intelligence, perceived usefulness of GenAI

A 90-day district pilot

  1. Days 1–15 · Appraise. Have the curriculum lead and a teacher read the methods and limitations. Record the study design, sample, comparator, outcomes and evidence gaps. Define a local question that the study can help inform.
  2. Days 16–30 · Design. Redesign one low-stakes assessment: require a first attempt, an AI-assisted revision, a source-check log and a short oral explanation. Use the same rubric for the comparison task. Name an accountable owner and set the baseline, success threshold and budget before implementation.
  3. Days 31–60 · Test. Start with a small voluntary cohort, preserve an accessible non-AI route and require teacher review. Use synthetic or de-identified examples; approve data handling and tool terms through district processes.
  4. Days 61–90 · Decide. Blind-score reasoning, factual accuracy and unaided transfer on a fresh task. Record suspected misconduct separately from demonstrated evidence. Compare with baseline, document uncertainty and stop or revise if learning worsens, access is unequal or critical errors persist.

The board decision brief

Report the learning problem, evidence quality, participating population, total cost including review time, measured benefit, errors, access differences and remaining uncertainties. Make a dated recommendation to stop, revise or expand. A positive perception survey alone does not establish learning improvement.

Attribution and reuse

Cai Zhang. The relationship between academic self-efficacy and GenAI dependence among college students: a chain mediation model of academic stress and perceived usefulness of GenAI. Frontiers in Psychology (2026-07-10). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1784354

Companion prepared 2026-10-30. Original authorship and DOI are preserved. The abstract is an attributed source extract; the implementation plan is new AI-assisted editorial material, offered under the same CC BY 4.0 license. This guide has not undergone independent peer review.