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World J Psychiatry. Nov 19, 2026; 16(11): 124485
Published online Nov 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.124485
Published online Nov 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.124485
Artificial intelligence attitudes and mental health in Chinese university students: Nonlinear relationships and the mediating role of self-efficacy
Si Fan, Department of Public Health, Hospital Infection Control Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330000, Jiangxi Province, China
Zhi-Zhou Duan, Department of Preventive Health Service, Jiangxi Provincial People’s Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang Medical College, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi Province, China
Co-first authors: Si Fan and Zhi-Zhou Duan.
Author contributions: Fan S and Duan ZZ analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript; Duan ZZ edited the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Fan S and Duan ZZ contributed equally to this work as co-first authors.
AI contribution statement: The authors declare that no artificial intelligence (AI) tools or large language models were used in study design or data collection, analysis, or interpretation.
Institutional review board statement: The Medical Ethics Committee of the Health Science Center, Yangtze University (Approval No. 202502001) approved this study.
Informed consent statement: All participants provided written informed consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There are no conflicts of interest to report.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Corresponding author: Zhi-Zhou Duan, Department of Preventive Health Service, Jiangxi Provincial People’s Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang Medical College, No. 152 Aiguolu, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi Province, China. 2013302170005@whu.edu.cn
Received: June 17, 2026
Revised: July 23, 2026
Accepted: August 31, 2026
Published online: November 19, 2026
Processing time: 135 Days and 6 Hours
Revised: July 23, 2026
Accepted: August 31, 2026
Published online: November 19, 2026
Processing time: 135 Days and 6 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This study explored the associations between artificial intelligence (AI) attitudes and mental health outcomes among 2736 college students. It identified distinct linear and nonlinear relationships across four dimensions of AI attitudes, and confirmed that general self-efficacy played a partial mediating role in these associations.