ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
Development and Validation of the AI Dependence Scale for Chinese Undergraduates and a Preliminary Exploration
Provisionally accepted
- 1Neijiang Normal University, Neijiang, China
- 2Nilai University, Nilai, Malaysia
- 3Xinjiang University of Politics and Law, Tumushuke, China
- 4Zhejiang Pharmaceutical University, Ningbo, China
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With the proliferation of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education, student overreliance has become a growing concern, potentially undermining critical thinking and autonomous learning. To address the lack of a comprehensive measurement tool, this study developed and validated the AI Dependence Scale (AIDep-22), a new instrument designed to assess this phenomenon across four hypothesized dimensions: emotional dependence, functional dependence, cognitive dependence, and loss of control. The scale was constructed following a rigorous two-stage process, beginning with item generation and refinement through expert reviews and cognitive interviews, followed by psychometric evaluation with two independent samples of Chinese university students (N = 400 each). An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) supported the four-factor structure, which was subsequently confirmed by a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on the second sample. The final 22-item scale demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.87), strong convergent and discriminant validity, and robust criterion-related validity. Preliminary analyses also identified key demographic risk factors, revealing that male students, upper-year students, those in applied majors, and more frequent AI users reported significantly higher dependence. This study contributes a reliable and valid diagnostic tool that enables educators and researchers to identify and support students at risk, and to design targeted interventions that promote a more balanced human-AI relationship in higher education.
Keywords: AI Dependence, ChineseUndergraduates, higher education, Psychometrics, scale development
Received: 15 Oct 2025; Accepted: 05 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wu, Ni, Luo and Wu. 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:
Houyu Wu
Haiyang Ni
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