{
  "abstract": "Background: Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) offers academic benefits but raises concerns about student dependency. Limited research has examined the psychological factors underlying GenAI dependency among university students.\n\nAim: This study examined how academic self-efficacy and academic stress relate to GenAI dependency, testing performance expectancy as a mediator and academic self-efficacy as a moderator of the stress–GenAI dependency relationship.\n\nMethods: This cross-sectional study surveyed 305 undergraduate students recruited through convenience sampling from a public university in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia between March and May 2026. Participants completed an Arabic measures of GenAI dependency, academic self-efficacy, academic stress, and performance expectancy. Direct, mediating, and moderating pathways were tested with partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), using 5,000 bootstrap resamples and a supplementary robustness check controlling for demographic covariates.\n\nResults: Academic self-efficacy was negatively associated with GenAI dependency (β = −0.245, p <0.001) and positively associated with performance expectancy (β = 0.237, p <0.001). Academic stress was positively associated with both performance expectancy (β = 0.315, p <0.001) and GenAI dependency (β = 0.287, p <0.001). Performance expectancy was positively associated with GenAI dependency (β = 0.411, p <0.001) and showed statistically significant indirect associations of academic self-efficacy (β = 0.098, p <0.001) and academic stress (β = 0.130, p <0.001) with GenAI dependency. Academic self-efficacy significantly moderated the relationship between academic stress and GenAI dependency (β = 0.102, p =0.010, 95% CI (0.024, 0.179); contrary to the hypothesized buffering effect, this positive association became stronger at higher levels of self-efficacy. The model explained 36.3% of GenAI dependency and 13.8% of performance expectancy variance.\n\nConclusion: GenAI dependency was associated with academic stress and academic self-efficacy, while performance expectancy showing significant indirect associations. Self-efficacy reduced GenAI dependency directly but amplified the stress-dependency relationship. These results support encouraging balanced GenAI use, managing academic stress, and calibrating students’ expectations of GenAI.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Clinical Neurosciences, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Al Ahsa, 31982, Saudi Arabia",
    "Department of Psychology, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, 190006, India",
    "Riphah Institute of Clinical and Professional Psychology, Riphah International University, Gulberg Campus, Lahore, Pakistan",
    "Department of Psychology, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, 110025, India",
    "College of Medicine, King Faisal University, AlAhsa, 31982, Saudi Arabia",
    "Department of School Education, Ministry of Education, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India",
    "Division of ENT, Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Al Ahsa, 31982, Saudi Arabia"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 11,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ayoob Lone",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7966-5723"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Imtiyaz Ahmad Dar"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Arooj Arshad"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Naved Iqbal"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Mohammad Abdullah Alnoaim"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Hosam Hussain Alkishi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Khalid Bandar Alnaim"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Abdulaziz Abdullah Albanyan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Abdullah Abdulbaqi Aljadaan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Maryam Jan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Ibrahim K Al jabr"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7ts4a34nf5d3r.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.2147/prbm.s656511",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13730095/",
  "id": "7ts4a34nf5d3r",
  "issns": [
    "1179-1578"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.2147/prbm.s656511",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Original Research"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3204|Student Stress and Coping"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7224222221",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.dovepress.com/article/download/121590",
  "pmcid": "PMC13730095",
  "pmid": "42979509",
  "published": "2026-10-30",
  "publisher": "Dove Press",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7ts4a34nf5d3r.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-07T12:22:43Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13730095",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.2147/prbm.s656511"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [],
  "title": "Academic Stress, Self-Efficacy, and Generative AI Dependency: A Cross-Sectional Study at a Saudi University",
  "title_text": "Academic Stress, Self-Efficacy, and Generative AI Dependency: A Cross-Sectional Study at a Saudi University",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-07T12:22:43Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7ts4a34nf5d3r",
  "venue": "Psychology Research and Behavior Management",
  "versions": []
}