ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Addictive Behaviors
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1621540
Development and validation of the Conversational AI Dependence Scale for Chinese college students
Provisionally accepted- 1Department of Psychology, Shaanxi University of Technology, Hanzhong, China
- 2Department of Psychology, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Excessive dependence on Conversational artificial intelligence (CAI) can significantly impact individual adaptation and development. Given the growing need for empirical assessment, this study presents the development and psychometric validation of the CAI Dependence Scale (CAIDS), a new instrument designed to assess CAI dependence among Chinese college students. In Study 1, drawing on theories of problematic internet use and qualitative interviews, we identified the psychological connotations and dimensions of CAI dependence. Item and exploratory factor analyses led to the development of the 20-item CAIDS, comprising four dimensions: uncontrollability, withdrawal symptoms, mood modification, and negative impacts. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analysis in a new sample validated the fourdimensional structure and demonstrated good reliability and validity. In Study 3, a current status survey revealed that the overall level of CAI dependence among college students was relatively high, with significant differences observed by gender, age, grade, income, and region. CAI dependence was a significant positive predictor of negative psychological outcomes and a significant negative predictor of subjective well-being. Withdrawal symptoms and negative impacts were more closely related to maladaptive indicators. The CAIDS provides a reliable and valid psychometric tool for assessing CAI dependence; additionally, further validation is required with more diverse samples and in cross-cultural contexts.
Keywords: Conversational artificial intelligence dependence, Validation, scale, Psychometric, Chinese college students
Received: 01 May 2025; Accepted: 15 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chen, Wang, Yuan and Zhao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yuanyuan Chen, Department of Psychology, Shaanxi University of Technology, Hanzhong, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.