From digital attitudes to online learning engagement: serial indirect associations through digital literacy and digital self-efficacy.
- 1Research Office, Chongqing Industry and Information Vocational College, Chongqing, China.
- 2Academic Affairs Office, Chongqing Wuyi Polytechnic, Chongqing, China.
- 3School of Digital Economy and Intelligent Management, Chongqing Metropolitan College of Science and Technology, Chongqing, China.
Abstract
Background
Engagement with online learning depends not only on access to digital media but also on students' evaluations of these media, perceived competence, and confidence. This study examined the statistical indirect associations linking digital attitudes with online learning engagement through digital literacy and digital self-efficacy.Methods
A cross-sectional, anonymous survey was completed by 548 students from four vocational colleges in southwest China. A hierarchical measurement model was estimated from all 38 item-level responses: digital literacy and online engagement were specified as second-order constructs through three and four first-order dimensions, respectively, whereas digital attitude and digital self-efficacy were first-order constructs measured directly by their items. Control-adjusted indirect effects were evaluated with 5,000 bootstrap resamples.Results
In the latent-variable model, digital attitudes were positively associated with digital literacy (β = 0.792, p < 0.001) and online engagement (β = 0.263, p < 0.001). Digital literacy was strongly associated with digital self-efficacy (β = 0.906, p < 0.001), and both digital literacy (β = 0.330, p = 0.001) and digital self-efficacy (β = 0.369, p < 0.001) were associated with engagement. The attitude-self-efficacy path was not significant in the latent model. In the control-adjusted composite-score analysis, the very small self-efficacy-only indirect effect had a confidence-interval lower bound of 0.00005; given its inconsistency with the latent model, H7 was not regarded as robustly supported. Under the common-latent-factor sensitivity specification, the literacy-only interval narrowly excluded zero, whereas the serial interval included zero.Conclusion
The findings are consistent with indirect associations involving closely related competence and confidence perceptions, not with two clearly independent psychological mechanisms. Because the study was cross-sectional and relied on one self-report survey, the reported paths are associative rather than causal; exact-fit rejection, common-method risk, limited separation between digital literacy and self-efficacy, and sensitivity of the serial indirect effect also warrant caution.
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BibTeX
@article{liu2026from,
title = {{From digital attitudes to online learning engagement: serial indirect associations through digital literacy and digital self-efficacy.}},
author = {Qing Liu and Yujie Wei and Rui Guo},
journal = {Frontiers in psychology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1943651},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42923253},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - From digital attitudes to online learning engagement: serial indirect associations through digital literacy and digital self-efficacy.
AU - Qing Liu
AU - Yujie Wei
AU - Rui Guo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/08
JO - Frontiers in psychology
DO - 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1943651
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42923253
AB - Background Engagement with online learning depends not only on access to digital media but also on students' evaluations of these media, perceived competence, and confidence. This study examined the statistical indirect associations linking digital attitudes with online learning engagement through digital literacy and digital self-efficacy.Methods A cross-sectional, anonymous survey was completed by 548 students from four vocational colleges in southwest China. A hierarchical measurement model was estimated from all 38 item-level responses: digital literacy and online engagement were specified as second-order constructs through three and four first-order dimensions, respectively, whereas digital attitude and digital self-efficacy were first-order constructs measured directly by their items. Control-adjusted indirect effects were evaluated with 5,000 bootstrap resamples.Results In the latent-variable model, digital attitudes were positively associated with digital literacy (β = 0.792, p < 0.001) and online engagement (β = 0.263, p < 0.001). Digital literacy was strongly associated with digital self-efficacy (β = 0.906, p < 0.001), and both digital literacy (β = 0.330, p = 0.001) and digital self-efficacy (β = 0.369, p < 0.001) were associated with engagement. The attitude-self-efficacy path was not significant in the latent model. In the control-adjusted composite-score analysis, the very small self-efficacy-only indirect effect had a confidence-interval lower bound of 0.00005; given its inconsistency with the latent model, H7 was not regarded as robustly supported. Under the common-latent-factor sensitivity specification, the literacy-only interval narrowly excluded zero, whereas the serial interval included zero.Conclusion The findings are consistent with indirect associations involving closely related competence and confidence perceptions, not with two clearly independent psychological mechanisms. Because the study was cross-sectional and relied on one self-report survey, the reported paths are associative rather than causal; exact-fit rejection, common-method risk, limited separation between digital literacy and self-efficacy, and sensitivity of the serial indirect effect also warrant caution.
SN - 1664-1078
ER -